This past week saw National Crab Meat Day come and go.
This past week saw National Crab Meat Day come and go. For those of you who haven’t heard, this special occasion falls on March 9th. Now then, you’ve got to be careful when you handle crabs. Before you can prepare your next crab soup, crabby macaroni, or jump lump crab meat pizza, you’ve got to start somewhere. That’s where we come in: here are some valuable pointers for cleaning and cooking your crabs before you chow down!
Basics
Even if you’re an experienced seafood chef, brushing up on your basic skills is still a good way to get started. In this case, the fundamentals include buying your crabs, keeping them stored, and then cleaning them shortly before preparation. Fresh crabs are going to be the tastiest option since they’re still alive. Raw crab is also edible, but don’t wait too long to cook it. Otherwise, it will expire. Pre-cooked crab and imitation crab are decent quality, but they won’t taste the same. Depending on how you acquired your crab meat, you can put the lumps in the fridge or stick them in the freezer. Let frozen crab thaw before you begin cooking.
Boiling
Crab boils (and crab feasts) are immensely popular. During the spring and summer, families all over the east coast make new memories during these delicious meals. If you’ve got a large stockpot, boiling the crabs will be simple enough. Water, salt, wine, beer, herbs, and seasonings can all infuse the meat with extra flavor so that it won’t turn out disappointingly bland.
Steaming
You can also steam the crab. This technique helps to retain more flavor. Unfortunately, you can’t do this with live crabs. You know what that means. Here, a sharp knife and a steamer basket will be your best friends. Salt, garlic, herbs, beer, and wine also make the crab meat taste like a million bucks.
Baking
You can bake crabs before organizing a crab boil as well. Live crabs must be pre-cooked through half-steaming or boiling first. Then, clean the crabs. Brush the extracted or lumped meat with butter; the butter should have garlic, shallots, and ginger included for an extra punch of flavor.
COSTAS INN IS YOUR SEAFOOD DESTINATION
Costas Inn has been a Baltimore tradition since 1971. You may recognize our restaurant, which was recently featured on the Food Network with Michael Symon on Burgers, Brew, and ‘Que! We were also voted the 2015 #1 Baltimore Seafood Restaurant by USA Today and #1 Crab Restaurant 2014 in the Baltimore Business Journal. You may have also spotted Costas Inn during one of our nine appearances on the Today Show or heard one of our many interviews on WJZ TV Channel 13 with Ron Matz and Marty Bass.
You can enjoy our famous crab cakes in-house or order them online for any time eating. We also provide some of the best seafood catering in the Baltimore area! You can also get your fill from Costas even when you’re not in our dining room: follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and YouTube!