Crabs, Crabs, Crabs. How to Choose and Prepare Them.

One of the most juicy and scrumptious seafoods in the markets today are Crabs. There are so many different types of crabs including whole crabs, crab legs, Alaskan crabs, stone crabs, and crab cakes. They can be prepared in soups, salads, or sandwiches. They can be enjoyed as crab cakes, crab fritters, in pasta and even steamed. No matter how you prepare it, crabs are a wonderful dish to prepare.

It is important to make sure that you pick the best crabs or crab meat that you can find. It does not matter what you are going to prepare, if the crab is not fresh, then the dish will reflect it and will not taste good. It is advisable to purchase live crabs. When choosing the best ones, you want to make sure that the ones that you pick are feisty and aggressive. If they are already dead, you could get sick from using the meat. When you purchase them, ask to look at the crabs, or better yet, choose the ones that you want so that you can insure better taste and decreased likelihood of getting sick. If you are not going to use fresh crab and go the frozen route, make sure that your crab has been frozen. Try not to buy crab meat that is defrosted as this could mean that it has been refrozen several times, or that the meat is old.

You definitely do not want to waste your crabs by cooking them incorrectly. It does not matter what type of crabs that you are cooking, make sure that you cook them right away. If you are going to steam them, make sure that your pot can hold all of them at once. This will prevent your crabs from cooling too fast and will ensure even cooking. You do not want to let your crabs sit in the liquid if you are going to steam them because this will cause them to be boiled instead. A great way to add good flavor to your steamed and boiling crabs is by adding beer and seasoning to the liquid. Now that they are cooked to your liking, sit back and enjoy their wonderful flavor.

Flavia Bindees is a retired chef who specialized in the purchasing and cooking of fresh Seafood for restaurants on the eastern seaboard.