uge claws, menacing spikes, six pointy legs — the blue crab needs all the protection it can get. That’s because inside its hard protective shell, this bulletproof crustacean stashes away some of the most sought-after meat in the sea.
The crab know as callinectes sapidus (Latin for “savory beautiful swimmer”) plays a special part in seafood-centric cuisines from Texas’ Gulf coast all the way around the tip of Florida and up the Atlantic coast as far as New York. Maryland’s much-ballyhooed Chesapeake Bay crabs and South Carolina’s prized she-crabs are the same species that Louisiana watermen pick out of traps all along the state’s coastline. In fact, due to its warm water and ideal salt-to-fresh water ratio, the Louisiana gulf coast leads the nation in blue crab export and crabmeat production. In certain seasons, the crabs they’re crackin’ in Baltimore might have grown up in Louisiana waters.
If you’ve ever worked your way through a whole boiled crab, you probably know that getting to the meaty bits is anything but simple. Bits of shell, cartilage, and the shards of shell are always a problem, and the deeper you get into a crab, the more delicate hand work it requires.
Jumbo lump crabmeat, found just behind the crab’s rounded swimming legs, is the most delicate, and richest in terms of flavor, texture and cost. This is the flawless, addictive meat you’ll find in crabmeat salads and many Creole butter-sauce dishes. If a waitresss draws out her syllables while saying “topped with jummmbo lummmmp crabmmmmeat sautéed in butter,” she’s seducing you with shellfish. If you can handle the price, succumb to the pleasure. You won’t be disappointed.
Backfin meat comes next; a bit less pristine than the lump variety, but still possessing a fine, clean flavor and preferred for marquee dishes like crab and corn bisque, stuffed crab or crabcakes. Flake crabmeat (also called “special”) is less costly and comes in smaller shreds than the more expensive grades. Last comes the claw meat, which doesn’t have the pure white color of the body meats, but instead leans toward the grayish hues with a nuttier flavor and texture similar to lobster tail.
You also might see another swimmer-related term at local seafood markets: Gumbo Crabs. These are smaller specimens, usually cut in half and frozen for stocks and seafood gumbos.