Maryland Official Visitors Guide - 2021 Maryland Official Visitors Guide
Crab Picking 101
2020-12-15 03:06:45
H.L. Mencken—the Sage of Baltimore—liked to say there are 50 ways to prepare a Maryland blue crab, and all of them are good, but when it comes to picking crabs, there’s really only one way forward.
1 FLIP IT
The key to every crab is on its belly. Starting at the top, pull off the thin strip of shell in the middle—on males, it looks like the Washington Monument, on females, more like the Capitol Dome—then you can pop the top shell off the body.
2 CLEAN IT
Crabs are steamed whole—that’s where that perfect flavor comes from—but some bits you’ll want to remove before you indulge. Take a finger and clear out the spongy gills on either side.
3 SPLIT IT
With your thumbs on each side of the abdomen, break the crab in half. Some people love the yellow “crab mustard” in the middle, but for your first time, you might want to remove that too.
4 SNAP IT
Snap off the legs and, if you get it right, each will come out with a bit of delicious meat at the end. The last leg is called the backfin, and has the best meat called “the jumbo lump.” You may want to save that part for last.
5 CRACK IT
Grab your mallet and crack the claw on the bottom just behind the pinchers and in the middle of the first joint, then snap them each in half. There’s good meat in those, and the claws are where most Maryland kids get their first taste of crab.
6 REPEAT
There are two particularly great things about a Maryland crab feast. One, it’s the only eating you get to do with a hammer, and two, you never eat just one. Pick another from the pile and get cracking.
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