Sweet Sook Half Bushel Dinner ~ Steamed & Spiced Female Blue Crab Mix, 5"-7" *FRESH* with (2) 5 oz. Maryland Lump Pub-Style Cakes *FROZEN*

What makes Blue Crabs Sweet?

Many theories get passed around the dock about what makes the blue crab meat sweet. Some say the crabs contain trace amounts of sugar. A caramelized crab chunk cooking in a cast iron skillet proves a natural ingredient causes this “golden brown.” Thinking about many meat cuts, such as fish, you’ll notice they caramelize too, especially when opaque. The caramelization is obvious. Since crabs proudly serve as a lean, high protein meat, along with most fish, another chemical “makeup” explains this feature. Amino Acids is the answer. Found in proteins, these acids give off a sweetness when cooked. Don’t get concerned over the “acid” term. It actually does a body good with beneficial qualities. Blood health, strong hormonal activity, and a vibrant immune system all get a boost from amino acids. Blue crab’s diet of healthy eelgrass, snails, fish, and other floating nutrients produce meat high in amino acids. So, a healthy, hungry crab grows sweet meat.

Others point to salinity levels. “Less salt means a sweeter meat,” they consistently explain. Blue crabs do taste sweeter from the Bay which does have a perfect mix of brackish water, about 25% salt. The theory falters slightly when crabs from Louisiana or even completely fresh waterways get a traditional steaming and spicing. The meat’s quality of salty-sweet is consistent with the Bay’s crab. To get scientific, research shows the zoea or developing baby crab prefers more salt at about 35 ppt, while a mature crab desires 3 ppt. The difference is startling, but then again crabs migrate in and out of various salinity levels their entire lives. Female crabs do search out for higher salinity to release their eggs, but from that point onward, the ebb and flow is much like the tide. So, as far as sweetness, the crab’s amino acids and healthy diet get the job done. As far as the “buttery” taste, we’ll save that for another day!

What’s the BEST Way to Golden-Brown a Crab Cake?

Maryland Lump Crab Cakes take the blue crab’s salty sweet taste to a two-dimensional delicious morsel. The golden-brown exterior caramelizes from the meat’s protein breaking down from the heat, causing a unique buttery sweetness. The cake’s interior, protected from the outer shell holds in the heat and produces a tender robust meat, flavored from the bay spices, dry mustard, black pepper, and egg. The crushed crackers give the cake a heartiness, but as a costar to the lump crab meat, picked from the crab’s two equal cavities under the main shell. This meat naturally holds together from the flakiness of the texture. So, the best Maryland Crab Cakes allow the meat to hold the cake together, and not added fillers.

Now to the golden-browning. First, get your kitchen workstation ready. Preheat the oven to 325°F and coat a large skillet with extra virgin olive oil. Find unsalted butter sticks from your refrigerator or fill a ramekin with oil. Get a brush ready for basting. Locate your Old Bay and a large cooking sheet. Lastly, make sure you have paper towels ready to go.

Get Cooking.  Grease the cooking sheet with olive oil and position the frozen cakes equally positioned on it, but not touching. You want the meat on the exterior to cook evenly for a full golden-brown shell. Slice a small slab of butter and place it on the top of each cake or with the brush, lightly coat the top of the cake with oil. Finally pinch a conservative amount of Old Bay on each. Start the timer for 15 minutes and get baking.

Keep an Eye on the Cakes. Make sure you have the oven light on so you can see the cakes transforming into a golden-brown masterpiece. If you see over-browning, promptly remove the cakes and finish on the skillet. As far as the stove top, turn on the heat at about the 10-minute point in baking. At medium-high, the oil in the skillet should begin to dance, but not a full-fledged sizzle.

Get that final searing and “hockey-puck” look in the pan. From the oven, place the cakes in the skillet and finish a searing for 30 seconds per side. Press down with the spatula on both sides to flatten the cake and then scoop each out onto a paper towel to soak up extra oil, “grease,” from the cakes. Wait about 5 minutes and serve. Listen for the accolades. You just made the BEST golden-brown cakes!