Tis the season for crabmeat recipes

All across the region, visitors and locals alike are enjoying this year's busy crab season. With a relatively abundant supply, a number of area restaurants offer all-you-can-eat steamed crab dinners. These boisterous venues are packed with diners seated at picnic tables that have been covered with brown craft paper.

Rolls of paper towels are set on each table, as are mallets and picks. Trays of steamed crabs sprinkled with Old Bay arrive at the table a dozen at a time and the frenzy begins. Hammering, cracking, snapping, picking and finally the prize - beautiful white crabmeat.

Most places include a few side dishes with the crabs: small plastic cups of cole slaw and potato salad or boiled corn on the cob. They also post strict instructions about how long you can take to finish your meal (usually within two hours) and insist you eat the entire crab, including the claws.

I love the flavor of fresh crabmeat, but lack the patience (and sometimes the skill) to excavate all the meat tucked inside the hard shell. My father used to describe this type of meal as a form of exercise: you invest more energy in collecting the crabmeat than the calories you take in when you finally get to eat.

For this reason, we usually turn to the containers of pasteurized crabmeat found in the cooler at Lloyd’s Market in Lewes. They reliably stock jumbo-lump crabmeat, which makes the most satisfying crab cakes and also carry other types, such as backfin and special, which are not quite as expensive.

One of the key features of this crabmeat is that it is among the freshest you can get, unless you're pulling the crabs live from your own crab pots. Not only is the processor's name on the container, but you can also see how far the containers have traveled and a shelf-life date for the crabmeat inside.

You will often see canned crabmeat in the refrigerated section of the large, chain groceries. This crab has been harvested, cooked and picked before being sealed into cans and heated to about 185 degrees, then chilled and packed for transport. While this jumbo-lump may be less costly, I believe the delicate crab flavor suffers from both the processing and packaging.

There are other options for canned crab that may be acceptable for a highly seasoned dip or spicy soup. Packaged in the same size can as tuna fish, the crabmeat inside is highly unlikely to have been harvested from the Chesapeake Bay, let alone waters off the United States. Keep these cans on hand for an emergency crab omelet.

One product that continues to appear in supermarkets (as well as in far too many online recipe sites) is imitation crab. Sold as crab sticks or Krab, these are made from processed seafood paste and starchy fillers.

The key ingredient listed on the label is not a fish at all, but "surimi" which translates from the Japanese as "ground meat.” A long list of white fish varieties go into the manufacture of surimi, which does not include any crab. Since the processing steps to make the pale-colored paste remove any trace of flavor, the addition of artificial flavorings and coloring agents is necessary.

Despite the enthusiastic reviews from imitation-crab fans, do not be misled. The rubbery texture, fake pink color and odd flavor will not combine with any set of ingredients to make a delicious crab dish. Reach for a can of crabmeat if you must, but be sure to go for the real thing, especially in the summery crab salads below.

For the meal in the photo, I originally planned to make a crab salad, but Jack put in a bid for crab cakes. To create your own version, toss baby greens in a lemon-garlic vinaigrette and top with your favorite sautéed crab cakes.

Crab Salad for Four

1 lb lump crabmeat
1/3 C thinly sliced green onion
1/3 C diced red bell pepper
2 T minced parsley
juice of 1 lemon
1 pressed garlic clove
1/2 C mayonnaise
pinch cayenne pepper
salt & pepper, to taste

Place the crabmeat in a colander and pick over to remove any traces of shell; set aside. In a serving bowl, toss together green onion, red pepper, parsley and lemon juice. Whisk together garlic, mayonnaise and cayenne pepper. Add mayonnaise mixture and crabmeat to the bowl, tossing gently to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve in hollowed-out tomatoes, avocado halves or endive leaves. Yield: 4 servings

Crab & Egg Salad for Two

8 oz crabmeat
2 hardboiled eggs
1 diced shallot
1 T minced parsley
1/2 t lemon zest
1/2 t Dijon mustard
1/4 C mayonnaise
salt & pepper, to taste

Place the crabmeat in a colander and pick over to remove any traces of shell; set aside. Finely chop the hardboiled eggs; set aside. Whisk together shallot, parsley, lemon zest, mustard and mayonnaise. Add crabmeat and egg, tossing gently to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve on slices of heirloom tomato or toasted baguette.

Crab Salad for One

4 oz crab meat*
1 T minced red onion
1/4 C diced tomato
1 t snipped cilantro leaves
2 t lime juice
1 t olive oil
salt & pepper, to taste
lettuce leaves

Whisk together onion, tomato, cilantro, lime juice and olive oil. Add the crabmeat and toss gently to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Arrange lettuce leaves on a salad plate and top with dressed crab mixture. *Note: if using canned crab meat, drain thoroughly; if using fresh crab meat, pick over to remove any shells.