The low down on crab meat

Chef D's Kitchen

Packaged crab meat sounds like a crablover's dream: no shells, no picking, no mess, just the sweet delicious crab meat, ready to be folded into a mousse, baked into a gratin, or scrambled into an omelet. But there is a tricky part: which one to buy?

Picked crab meat is usually from Atlantic blue crabs; about 20 crabs are picked to make 1 pound of meat. Because raw crab meat is difficult-if not impossible-to pick, all picked crabmeat has been steamed and the packages labeled fresh or frozen. Once frozen, the meat cannot be labeled as fresh. Crab meat is pasteurized, which lengthens the refrigerated shelf life. Or it's thermally processed, which kills Listeria bacteria.

Crab meat from the swimming, or back legs is called "lump" or "jumbo lump." The meat from the back legs is large, solid and white and has only a few shell pieces mixed into the meat. This style of crab is excellent in recipes where you want to see large pieces of crab.

"Backfin" crab meat is from the body and legs of the crab. The pieces of meat are smaller than lump pieces, and there are usually more pieces of shell. Backfin crabmeat is good in recipes where the meat should be noticeable.

"Special" crabmeat, also known as regular, deluxe, flake or white, is small pieces of shredded crab from the body and legs. This meat can have lots of flexible shell and it must be picked over carefully before using. This type of meat is great for any recipe, where the meat will be pureed or price and taste is more important than appearance and presentation.

"Claw meat" is also available, as is "minced crabmeat." Both are small pieces of reddish-brown meat. "Cocktail crab claws" are sold with the shell still attached for easy handling at parties.

Crab meat stuffed shrimp

1 pound fresh lump crab meat, picked over for shells and cartilage

2 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus 3 table spoons melted unsalted butter

1/2 cup minced yellow onions

1/4 cup minced celery

1/4 minced green bell peppers

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley leaves

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1 egg, lightly beaten

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon hot sauce

1 1/2 cups crushed buttery, flaky crackers

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

20 jumbo shrimp (about 2 pounds), shelled, leaving tail and connecting shell segment, deveined, and butterfly length wise

Chopped parsley, garnish

1 lemon, cut into wedges, garnish

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter a large baking dish and set aside.

Place the crabmeat in a large bowl and season with the Old Bay. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

In a large skillet, melt 4 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Add the onions, celery, and bell peppers and cook, stirring, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the parsley and the garlic, and cook, stirring, for one" minute. Remove from heat and let cool.

Add the cooled vegetables to the crabmeat and toss to combine. Add the mayonnaise, egg, lemon juice, Worcestershire and hot sauce and stir gently with a large wooden spoon. Add 1 cup of the cracker crumbs, the salt, and pepper, and stir gently, being careful not to break up the crabmeat.

Mound about 2 tablespoons of the crabmeat stuffing into each shrimp, press gently to close, and place, stuffed sides up, in the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of the flaky, buttery cracker crumbs over the stuffed shrimp and drizzle with the remaining melted butter. Bake until golden, about 20 minutes. Garnish with parsley and lemon wedges. Serve immediately.

[Author Affiliation]

Chef David Blackmon is the Career Cluster Manager of Hospitality & Culinary Arts for Education to Careers in Chicago Public Schools. Email him chefblackmon@sbcglobal.net