In fact, NOAA reports the heaviest male crab this last season tipped the scale at 1. Distinct visual appearances cause quite a stir. Water-men and the enthusiast quickly know the difference in sexes. Females flash red-tipped claws and a broad abdominal apron likened to the Capitol dome to sack eggs roe. Males sport bright blue claws and a narrow abdominal apron compared to the Washington Monument. Females enjoy the mouth of the Bay near the ocean for higher salinity water.
This preference causes them to journey to estuaries in Virginia closer to the Atlantic and give them a likely waterway for a female catch. Returning to the taste, however, both female and male offer delicate, white meat. Should you feast on an ultimate female catch or male catch? Possibly try both! Super Dooper Crabs! Once a crab-eater falls in love with steamed, spicy Blue Crab, he normally becomes addicted to larger and meatier crustaceans.
Indeed, their back legs, which are paddle shaped, make them excellent swimmers. And blue crabs are prized for their sweet, delicate flavor and tender meat. Blues are among the most heavily harvested creatures across the world, and typically fetch high prices in ports around the world. While both sexes have sapphire-tinted claws, females have an additional display of color: red highlights on the tips of their pincers. These delightfully colorful crabs take up residence in waters from Nova Scotia to the Gulf of Mexico, and even further south along the coasts of Argentina and Uruguay.
Nowhere is the crab more iconic, though, than the Chesapeake Bay. These are a delicacy and are more challenging to source than the hard ones.
The season runs from the middle of May through to September in Maryland. To get the best-priced crab that is an impressive size and fat-laden, buy from September to October. Apron: The pointy flap underneath a crab that can be used to determine its age and sex.
Backfin: Backfin contains pieces of body meat that are finer in texture than lump meat. Cooks use them for adding to crab cakes. Jumbo lump: Jumbo lump is a bright white color and is revered for its size, presentation, and taste. Mustard: Also known as tomalley, the mustard is crab fat and is present in all crabs. It ranges from white through to a yellowish-brown color, similar to dijon mustard.
Peeler: The name is given to crabs transitioning to soft shell crabs. They are preparing to molt their shell and can be identified by a colored line running down its paddling fin. They are not yet ready to mate and are relatively small, so often crabbers toss them back.
Sponge crab: Mature female crabs that must be thrown back in the water as they are carrying fertilized eggs on their abdomen. Related reading: What do scallops taste of? The best Old Bay Seasoning substitutes. While June through August are the most favored and tradition-laden times for eating crabs, September and October are the best time to get the largest and fattest hard crabs at the best prices.
The Maryland soft shell season usually runs mid-May through September. Because they are a delicacy, the best time to eat them is whenever you can get them. However, they are typically the least expensive at the beginning of the season. It can range in color from white to dijon mustard yellow to a greenish color. It is included with most pre-packed crabmeat to enrich its flavor. Roe: Found in mature female crabs, crab roe is a bright orange color.
When steamed it solidifies, and is often used as a topping in Chinese cuisine for dishes like pork and crab soup dumplings, or tofu. Jumbo lump: These are the large chunks of meat connected to the swimming fins of the crab. It is favored for its presentation and size, and is accordingly more expensive. Backfin: Backfin meat comes from the body of the crab and broken chunks of lump. It tends to have a more shredded texture than lump and is less expensive.
Apron: This is the flap on the white underside of a crab, which terminates in a point. They can be used to judge the sex and maturity of the crab. Jimmy: These are male crabs; the point of the apron is long and narrow.
Adults have locking spines that allow them to open and shut their apron for mating. These are typically the favorite for consumption due to their size and have higher availability due to higher catch limits. Sally: Also known as she-crabs, these are adolescent female blue crabs.
Their entire apron forms a triangle, and their blue claws are tipped with red. The aprons do not open since they are not ready to mate or carry eggs. Typically these are thrown back due to their small size and reproductive potential. Sook: Mature female blue crabs are identified by an apron that is the shape of an upside-down U with a triangular point at the end. She also has blue claws tipped with red. Sooks are usually less expensive and end up in the picking houses due to their smaller size.
Some say that sooks have sweeter meat than jimmies. Sponge crab: Sponge crabs are mature females that have fertilized eggs attached to the bottom of their abdomens. In Maryland, these must be thrown back into the water. Peeler: This is the term used to describe a crab as it prepares to molt and to become a soft shell crab.
It is distinguished by a colored line on its paddling fin. Size classes: There are no industry standards for crab sizes, so they may vary from vendor to vendor. Most are categorized by the distance from point to point on the top shell and sometimes by sex. There are two systems of size classification. The first uses numbers, with 1 being the largest, heaviest males, 2 signifying smaller males, and 3 labeling the females and smallest crabs.
The other system classifies them by small, medium, large, and jumbo; smalls are usually four-and-a-half to five inches across, while jumbos are typically larger than six inches. Old Bay: The spice served up from the iconic blue and yellow box has become a pop icon.
0コメント