7 Crab Recipes: How to Cook With Crab Meat

Crab is a crustacean chefs use in a variety of different seafood dishes, ranging from mains to sides. There are several types of crab suited to individual recipes, as well as a host of ways you can prepare the shellfish, including baking, boiling, and frying the crab meat. When people refer to crab meat, they mean the interior of the crab—the flesh underneath its hard, inedible shell or exoskeleton.

There are many different types of crab roaming the ocean. Here are just four types of crab you can put to use in a recipe:

1. 1. Blue crab: Named for their distinctly blueish appearance, these crabs predominantly make their homes along the East Coast of the United States. They take another of their nicknames—the Chesapeake Blue Crab—from their prominence in the Chesapeake Bay. Countries outside the US use these crabs in recipes, too. For instance, Japanese cooks wait until crabs molt (shed their exoskeleton) to cook them as whole soft shell crabs.
2. 2. Canned crab meat: Many grocery stores and supermarkets sell canned crab meat for those who would prefer to avoid the process of removing crab meat from the shellfish’s exoskeleton. These canned goods often contain a crab mixture, rather than just one type of crab—although you can find the latter in canned form, too. If you’re looking to avoid high costs, you can look for imitation crab meat, which also frequently comes in cans and can be a bargain. Try using canned crab meat for an on-the-go crab roll sandwich.
3. 3. Dungeness crab: Found throughout the Pacific Ocean near North America, Dungeness crabs are wide, meaty shellfish of a brownish tint. Their muscular crab legs make for a messy but tasty meal of their own. You’ll need to crack them open yourself in many restaurants, gradually pulling out the meat from their claws as you eat.
4. 4. King crab: These suitably named crabs sometimes reach a majestic size of more than twenty pounds with a five-foot leg span. You can spot them by their long, spindly legs—one of the few parts of their bodies that are edible.

Crab pairs well with a panoply of different ingredients, sauces, and spices. Consider adding any of these to your next crab recipe:

1. 1. Cilantro: Like fresh parsley or green onions, cilantro makes for a stylish and tasty garnish on your crab dishes. Try the herb in a fresh crab salad or slice and dice it over a crab soup.
2. 2. Cream cheese: Use this thick, creamy cheese as a filler in finger foods like crispy crab rangoon. Many crab recipes are fairly buttery and viscous, so cream cheese can add to the soft texture of many dishes as a whole.
3. 3. Fennel: This herb can help add flair to a crab dish as easily as it does to an Italian sausage. Try including fennel for a licorice taste in your next crab salad or appetizer.
4. 4. Dipping sauce: Many crab dishes invite the opportunity to pair them with a specially suitable type of dipping sauce. Use cocktail sauce, Dijon mustard, remoulade, tartar sauce, or Worcestershire sauce as a dip or dressing for your crab dishes.
5. 5. Pasta: Cut up some crab and add it to your next pasta dish. Crab linguine, in particular, is an Italian staple. Add some Parmesan cheese to whichever crab pasta dish you prefer for some extra flavor.
6. 6. Red potatoes: If you plan to make a crab boil in a slow cooker, think about throwing some red potatoes and other veggies into the mix, too. Drizzle them with fresh lemon juice, red pepper, and Old Bay seasoning for a flavorful and multifaceted dish.
7. 7. Spices: As with many other meals, crab can benefit from the addition of some heat. Give black pepper or cayenne pepper and sea salt a chance. For a more southern twist, try Louisiana or Cajun seasoning.

You can do a lot with this appetizing shellfish. Try out any of these crab recipes for your next meal:

1. 1. Crab au gratin: This buttery casserole, topped with panko breadcrumbs and multiple cheeses, is a moist, delicious treat that’s popular in the southern United States. Try adding or subtracting ingredients from this crab au gratin recipe to make it your own.
2. 2. Crab cakes: This easy recipe is a seafood staple. Use jumbo lump crab meat with lemon juice, egg, and Worcestershire sauce for this crab cakes recipe.
3. 3. Crab chowder: Similar to clam chowder, this creamy crab soup is a milky treat that can fill you up as a main course or serve as an appetizer. Combine the shellfish with corn for a delicious crab chowder recipe.
4. 4. Creamy crab bisque: Add panko breadcrumbs or dip a baguette into this soup after sprinkling it with black pepper. Complement your crab with plenty of spices and a heaping helping of butter for this creamy crab bisque recipe.
5. 5. Hot crab artichoke dip: Use a jar of artichoke hearts and try various sauces to start stirring up this hot crab dip recipe. The artichokes’ carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals balance out the protein from the crab in this hot crab artichoke dip.
6. 6. Japanese crab salad: In a short amount of prep time, you can whip up this Japanese side dish to try crab on a bed of greens. Sprinkle this Japanese crab salad recipe with some juice from a lemon wedge for a bit of zest.
7. 7. She-crab soup: Made from female crabs or lump crab meat, this dish should be ready in a total time of thirty minutes. Add in fish stock for this fresh she-crab soup recipe.

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