The meat of blue crabs has a rich, sweet, succulent, and buttery flavor. The body meat is delicately flavored, while the claw meat is nutty. Blue crabs are also sold in their soft-shell state, which offers the same rich-tasting crab meat along with the slightly crunchy texture of the shell.  When cooking blue crabs, it is critical that the crab meat reaches an internal temperature of 70 C (158 F) for at least one minute to ensure the destruction of bacteria. For safety, steam crabs for 25 to 30 minutes or boil them for approximately 15 minutes. Either method is effective.

Of course, you may also buy crab meat already cooked and picked. It's typically sold in half or one-pound containers in three forms - lump, backfin, and special. The special crab meat is the least expensive and is ideal for making crab cakes. Nutritionally, a 3-ounce portion of fresh, cooked crab meat offers 93 calories, 1.1 grams of fat, 83 milligrams of cholesterol, and 19 grams of protein.  Pasteurized crab meat can be refrigerated for up to six months before opening; use it within three to five days after opening.  Follow the "use by" dates on the package.

Fresh crab meat should be stored on ice or in the coldest part of your refrigerator and used within two days. Pasteurized crab meat has been hermetically sealed in a can. It can be stored for several months in the coldest part of your refrigerator. Use canned crab meat as you would fresh crab meat and use within two days of opening.

Mid-Atlantic waters offer many types of fishing, but blue crab probably receives the most attention. Whether on a yacht or dinghy, a pier or mud bank, the sight of a string tied to a chicken neck or fish head is a common sight in the coastal zone.  Blue crabs are invertebrates belonging to the largest group, or phylum, of animals called Arthropoda, or joint-legged animals. More specifically, they are decapod crustaceans, meaning they are arthropods with 10 legs and a hard shell. Scientists know the blue crab as Callinectes sapidus, which is quite descriptive since Callinectes means beautiful swimmer and sapidus means savory.

Blue crabs have a varied diet but are most often thought of as scavengers that feed on a variety of dead animals. Decaying animals produce odors that the crab detects and locates with its extremely sensitive antennae. Actually, blue crabs prefer live or fresh food over decaying matter. At night, they can be seen swimming around lighted piers preying on bait fish and smaller blue crabs. Crabs will also lie motionless on the bottom waiting for an unsuspecting passerby. Clam, oyster, and mussel beds are often feeding areas for blue crabs. Biologists have estimated that an adult blue crab may eat over 1,200 juvenile clams a day. Salt-marsh cord grass (Spartina), eelgrass (Zostera), sea lettuce (Ulva), and other plants are also part of the blue crab's diet.

The first Sunday in October we hold an open house at the College of Marine and Earth Studies called Coast Day.  There are many entertaining, education and tasty activities that occur on this day.  One of our most popular events is the Coast Day Crab Cake Cook-off.  To see this year's winning recipe and learn more about the event visit our website.

About the Fishmonger

Doris Hicks, Seafood Technology Specialist, This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

As seafood specialist, for the University of Delaware Sea Grant Marine Advisory Service, Hicks works with both the seafood industry and consumers to develop educational programs about the proper way to handle, store, and prepare finfish and shellfish.  In addition to these outreach efforts, Hicks serves as a seafood safety instructor, providing training programs to seafood processors throughout the region. She also has conducted research with University of Delaware colleagues to explore new technologies for pasteurizing seafood.  Hicks received her bachelor's degree in food science from Rutgers University and her master's degree in food science and human nutrition from the University of Delaware.