What Parts of a Blue Crab Can You Eat? A Guide to Enjoying This Delicious Crustacean

Blue crab is a cherished delicacy along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. With its sweet, briny flavor and tender meat, it’s no wonder people eagerly await blue crab season each year.

But when faced with a cooked blue crab for the first time, you may wonder – what exactly can you eat? The crab contains many different parts within its hard outer shell

Knowing the edible parts of a blue crab ensures you can fully enjoy this sustainable seafood, So let’s crack open this guide to eating blue crab and explore the sweet meat inside

An Overview of Blue Crab Anatomy

Before determining which parts to eat, it helps to understand the basic architecture of a blue crab.

Blue crabs have a hard exoskeleton that protects their delicate interior. The shell comprises a carapace (top) and apron (bottom). Inside this casing you’ll find:

• Claws: The crab’s primary means of defense and feeding. Each claw contains a small amount of meat.

• Walking legs: Blue crabs have 5 pairs of legs for mobility. The rear legs contain some meat.

• Swimmerets: Located under the body, these allow crabs to swim.

• Gills: The breathing apparatus of the crab, located on the side.

• Internal organs: Includes the digestive system, heart, and reproductive organs.

Now let’s explore which parts of a cooked blue crab are edible and delicious!

The Most Prized Meat: Jumbo Lump Crab

The best tasting morsels that blue crab has to offer come from the large muscle nuggets, known as jumbo lump crab meat.

This premium grade crab is handpicked from the swimming legs and body. It contains whole intact chunks of sweet white meat.

Jumbo lump crab has a firm yet tender bite. Its meat provides an elegant texture and clean crab flavor, making it ideal for dishes like crab cakes.

Due to its quality and yield, jumbo lump commands a higher market price. But a little bit of this crab meat goes a long way to add richness to any meal.

Backfin Crab: Smaller Lumps of Sweetness

After jumbo lump, backfin is the next grade of premium crab meat you’ll want to look for.

Backfin comes from the upper half shell and smaller leg joints. It contains smaller pieces and flakes of white meat rather than whole chunks.

Since the lumps are smaller, backfin can cost slightly less than jumbo lump. But it still delivers impressive sweetness along with versatility from the smaller flakes.

Backfin works beautifully in crab Imperial, crab dip, pasta dishes, and anywhere you want delicate crab flavor in a recipe.

Claw Crab: Satisfying and Simple

Don’t overlook the meat hiding within the blue crab’s claws and arms either. Claw meat is another choice section of crab to enjoy.

Compared to body meat, claw crab contains more connective tissue. But the meat itself provides a hearty, satisfying texture with full crab flavor.

Claw crab offers a more budget-friendly option too. It costs noticeably less than jumbo lump and backfin meat.

Beyond cost, claws provide a fun hands-on eating experience. Just crack them open and pick out the sweet meat using a crab pick or fork.

Leg Crab Meat: Mild and Affordable

Moving down to the blue crab’s legs, you’ll find smaller portions of meat within each segment. The farther down the leg, the smaller each section becomes.

Leg meat contains mostly flakes versus chunks or lumps. But it still carries the quintessential taste of fresh crab, along with a slightly milder flavor compared to lump meat.

Since it takes more work to pick out, leg meat is generally the most affordable form of blue crab. Blended with mayonnaise, it makes a perfect crab salad.

Don’t Overlook the Shoulders and Body

While not as meaty, the shoulders and upper shell of a blue crab contain enjoyable morsels of crab as well.

After discarding the gills and innards, use a fork or pick to scrape out any remaining meat tucked within the body. It may take a bit more effort, but it’s worth uncovering every sweet bite.

Look for pockets of meat around the upper shell, shoulders, and leg joints. Then crack the body fully open and remove remaining meat.

Inedible Parts of a Blue Crab

Now that we’ve covered the edible sections, let’s discuss what you don’t want to eat when serving up blue crab.

• Shell: The blue crab’s hard, spiny exoskeleton is entirely inedible. Only consume the interior meat.

• Gills: Known as “dead man’s fingers,” the feather-shaped gills are toxic. Always remove them before eating the body meat.

• Apron: The folded section on the crab’s abdomen tends to contain an unpleasant taste and texture.

• Intestines: As with any animal, the digestive tract contains wastes and bacteria. Never consume the crab innards.

• Mouth parts: Discard the eyes, mandibles, and any other facial structures.

So stick to the crab meat within the claws, legs, and body cavity and discard the rest. Now let’s explore proper preparation and cooking techniques.

Handling and Cooking Blue Crab

To maximize flavor and texture, it’s important to cook blue crab properly from start to finish. Here are some key tips:

• Buy live crabs whenever possible and cook them the same day. This ensures freshness.

• Store live crabs in a cooler with damp newspaper, not on ice, to prevent freezing.

• Clean live crabs just before cooking by rinsing and scrubbing the shell.

• Steam or boil live crabs for 15-20 minutes until the shell turns red. Take care not to overcook.

• Let cooked crabs cool enough to handle before cracking them open to pick out the meat.

• Refrigerate fresh crab meat for 3-4 days maximum. Freeze for longer storage.

• When reheating crab meat, avoid boiling or microwaving which can toughen the texture. Instead, gently warm it.

Follow these best practices from dock to table, and you’ll be able to appreciate every last bit of blue crab deliciousness.

Tips for Picking Crab Meat

Once cooked, it’s time for the fun part – picking out all that wonderful crab meat! Arm yourself with the proper tools:

• Small wooden mallet or hammer

• Metal crab cracker

• Seafood fork or pick

• Paring or utility knife

• Bib, napkins, damp paper towels

Then follow these steps:

1. Twist off the legs and claws. Crack open claws with the mallet. Use the pick to pull out meat.

2. Lift and separate the top shell. Discard internals.

3. Break crab in half. Remove meat from body cavity first.

4. Crack legs bend-to-break fashion. Dig out leg meat using pick.

5. Cut shoulders to extract remaining meat.

6. Use knife, pick, and fingers to pull out every morsel!

It takes practice, but you’ll quickly get the hang of extracting all the prime crab meat.

Health Benefits of Blue Crab

Not only delectable, but blue crab meat also delivers excellent nutrition. It provides:

• Protein: Over 16g per 3oz serving to promote muscle growth and satisfaction.

• Vitamin B12: Critical for nerve tissue health.

• Selenium: An important antioxidant for immune health.

• Phosphorus: Assists in bone formation.

• Zinc: Essential for healing wounds.

Additionally, blue crab contains bioactive peptides that may help lower blood pressure. The omega-3’s in crab meat can support heart health by improving cholesterol levels.

For overall wellbeing, enjoying blue crab 1-2 times per month as part of a balanced diet can provide health advantages. Just be mindful of how it’s prepared, steamed and baked are healthiest.

Simple Recipes to Enjoy Blue Crab Meat

Once you’ve perfected your crab picking skills, here are some tasty ways to eat blue crab meat:

• Classic crab cakes – Fold lump crab gently into fresh breadcrumbs, egg, mustard, and spices. Pan fry crab cakes until golden.

• Creamy crab dip – Combine crab meat with cream cheese, sour cream, lemon juice, and fresh herbs. Serve with crackers or veggies.

• Crab salad – Gently mix crab pieces with celery, red onion, cucumber, lemon juice, olive oil, and lettuce greens.

• Crab soup – Simmer claw and leg meat in broth with tomatoes, corn, potato, and spices for depth.

• Crab pasta – Toss crab lumps with hot linguine or angel hair pasta, olive oil, garlic, parsley, and grated parmesan