Field Guide
Blue Crab
What is it
You can find more than sixty varieties of crab in the Gulf Coast’s waters, but the Blue Crab is Alabama’s top choice. If you can crack those tough shells, you’ll find a real seafood treasure. Crab meat is soft, sweet and juicy all the way down to the claws.
When to get it
Fresh crab meat can be found on restaurant menus in various forms all year round, so it’s never a bad time to indulge. But because they migrate into deeper waters during colder weather, you’ll find the freshest catch from March through November.
Where does it come from
With some recent harvests weighing in at over four million pounds, there’s plenty of Blue Crab to be found along Alabama’s Gulf Coast. You can spot them near the shore or in bay waters when the weather is warm, but when the temperatures drop, they travel to deeper waters to find the optimum temperature.
How it's prepared
Crab meat can be found stuffed into just about any dish, but if you want the freshest, tastiest Blue Crab, you’ll have to work for it. Like lobsters, Blue Crab is often served with their shells on, which means cracking open the body and the claws to get to the meat. If you’ve got a big enough pot and plenty of crabs, steaming them for just over half an hour should do the trick, but make sure the shells are a bright orange color before you dig in.
Soft-Shell Crab
What is it
While these critters are technically still Blue Crab, they’re a different seafood experience. Every so often, these crabs will shed their shells in order to grow, but if they’re scooped out of the water before the shell can harden, they remain in this soft state. A smaller window for harvesting, not to mention a fresher taste and a unique texture, means that Soft-Shell Crab is considered a delicacy of Southern seafood.
When to get it
Timing is the tricky part with Soft-Shell Crab—for both crab fishermen and seafood lovers alike. Blue Crab is only in its softer outfit for four hours or so, and they only go through this process a certain time each year. Scientists at places like the University of Alabama at Birmingham are trying to cook up a key to make this process a year-round event, but until that happens, look for Soft-Shell Crab in the late spring and early summer.
Where does it come from
Soft-Shell Crab can be found anywhere that Blue Crab calls home. If you’re brave enough, you can track down a few of your own as long as there’s a light wind, a low tide, and a bright moon.
How it's prepared
Like most seafood, Soft-Shell Crab can be grilled or sautéed, but these guys are best when fried. All it takes is a proper cleaning before breading it and throwing the whole thing—shell and all—into a frying pan. Once it’s done, slide it between a couple slices of French bread and you’ve got what the locals call a “spider sandwich.”