Blue crabs, named for their colorful shells that add flavor when cooked, are also known as delicious swimming crabs. Callinectus sapidus As a seed. This delicacy is often served whole in the Chesapeake Bay and Maryland, while chunks of crab are used on the Gulf Coast. From seafood appetizers to snacks to stews, here are 12 recipes from his two regions of the United States where blue crab is the best.
seafood gumbo
Victor Protasio / Food Styling: Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling: Christina Daley
Tiffany Dery’s satisfying gumbo recipe with juicy blue crab makes for a seasonal seafood dinner.
blue crab beignets
In this 30-minute recipe from New Orleans chef Justin DeVilliers, a creamy, warm crab filling is coated in a thin layer of beignet dough and encased in a light, crispy crust.
sweet and sour crab claws
Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling: Amelia Lampe
Chef Kristen York of Seaworthy in New Orleans makes a messy but delicious party appetizer by marinating crab claws in a sauce made with umami-packed gochujang, slightly sweet rice vinegar, and ketchup. Masu.
louisiana rump crab cake
New Orleans chef Melissa Martin says her aunt Christine taught her how to use leftover shrimp as a binder instead of crumbs in crab cakes. This recipe makes her 8 pieces. You can also freeze them ahead of time if you wish.
Crispy salt and pepper soft shell crab
Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling: Barrett Washburn
We always look forward to soft shell crabs being in season in the spring. In particular, this recipe by Andrew Zimmern crisps up the shell while enhancing the tender crab meat.
Leah Chase’s Okra Gumbo with Blue Crab and Shrimp
The legendary New Orleans chef calls for shrimp and live blue crabs in this Creole recipe. If these aren’t available in your area, it’s worth the splurge to have them shipped overnight from Louisiana fishing grounds and enjoy the unique flavors of the Gulf. seafood on the coast.
Maryland style crab cake
© Frederica Sterne
“I can’t stress enough how important it is to use fresh, carefully processed blue crab meat,” says Spike Gjerde, chef at Woodbury Kitchen in Baltimore. . This recipe has lots of nice lumps of crab and less breading.
Crunchy cayenne-flavored crab cakes
DeAnn Budney, who grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland, attended an all-day Chesapeake blue crab feast hosted by the Veterans of Foreign Wars. This flavor pairs well with her wonderfully spicy crab cakes.
Soft shell crab sandwich with pancetta and remoulade
Chunky soft-shell crab is layered with salty slices of pancetta, slices of tomato, and a remoulade made with store-bought mayonnaise for a simplified version of Chicago chef Bruce Sherman’s sandwich.
Crispy soft shell crab with Bangalore style dipping sauce
Andrew Zimmern spent years researching, cooking, and eating soft shell crab while working with them in Maryland. Here, fried crabs are served with a bright, spicy, herbal dipping sauce inherited from the owners of India’s largest crab processing facility.
crab and avocado toast
© Lucy Schaefer
Gerald Craft grew up in Washington, D.C., and ate a lot of Maryland blue crabs. Here he makes a deliciously simple starter: sweet crabmeat tossed with fresh mint and lime juice and spooned over mashed avocado on toast.
Open face crab empanadas
José Andrés combines traditional Basque changolo (crab in tomatoes) with Galician empanadas made with one of his favorite American ingredients: blue crab.
