The Best Way To Cook Low-Quality Crab Meat According To An Expert

Crab, whether prepared live, pre-cooked, or frozen, is a tasty delicacy. The fact that most of the animal is edible makes it extra-accessible for home cooking. Once you learn all about buying, preparing, and cooking crab, it can be worth the price and effort to break down a whole crab. But, not all parts of the crab's body are equal. The claws and jumbo lump meat are more popular than what's called "special" flesh: small, mushier flakes from the body. In addition, whether the meat is canned, frozen, or cooked live can affect quality. We've even ranked canned crab from worst to best. 

So what's the best way to cook lower-grade or lower-quality crab meat? Chef Andy Kitko, executive chef for Carlotto New York and Oceans New York (the latter specializing in seafood), told Chowhound the best thing to do is use the right meat in the right dishes. Whether quality issues stem from which part of the crab you're using or how it was prepared, for Kitko, lower-quality crab meat works best fried. "I would suggest something like a fritter, where it's lightly fried and served with a dipping sauce," he says. Crab fritters are a bit like croquettes or hush puppies. "This would be a way to get the most flavor and enjoy the texture."

Crab meat is categorized by grade depending on where in the body it's from; think of it like cuts of steak. Jumbo lump and claw meat are large, succulent pieces enjoyed for their flavor, size, and texture. Lump meat, from the body of the crab, consists of a mix of large and small broken pieces with a firm texture. Special grade meat covers the little bits and pieces of white crabmeat from the body. These pieces are too small and flaky to dip in butter, and can be mushy in texture. Chef Andy Kitko recommends mixing special and lump meat for fritters and crab cakes, saying the combination "provides a variety of textures and is cost efficient," plus making them at home means you can avoid ordering pricier crab cakes at restaurants.

While fresh crab offers the best flavor and texture, Kitko warns that "it's important to buy from a reputable source to ensure freshness. Food safety is a factor when using unpasteurized crab meat." When it comes to pre-packaged crab, "most crab meat is pasteurized which makes it completely safe," says Kitko, "however, this process does compromise flavor."