How to Cook Canned Crab Meat

Fresh crab meat is a delight, but if you don't have it available, you can use canned crab meat instead to make a host of delicious recipes. Some are so good that you won't even miss having fresh crab.

An important thing to remember when using canned crab meat is to carefully look through it and remove any fragments of bone or shell you find. There are almost sure to be at least a few tiny shards in amongst the meat, and unexpectedly biting down on one can sure ruin the eating experience.

Meat Casseroles

My favorite snacking use for canned crab meat is as a spread for bread. Melt some butter in a pan, mince a clove of garlic and throw it in, then stir in some crab meat and cook over medium heat for just a few minutes. While the meat is still hot, spread it over pieces of crusty French bread or a slice of sourdough. Mmmm!

I also use crab meat, canned or fresh, in two recipes that call on my Louisiana heritage:

Gumbo. Of course! Just add crab meat to any gumbo recipe that normally calls for shrimp. Or, use crab meat and shrimp together in the gumbo.

Cajun crab stew. First, make a thick roux. Add some chopped onion and bell pepper and several cloves of garlic that you have minced. Cook until the onion and pepper chunks are slightly browned. Add water, crab meat, a few shakes of crushed basil, several dashes of worcestershire sauce or tabasco sauce, some crushed red pepper, coarsely ground black pepper and ½ teaspoon of salt. Turn down the heat and let simmer for 12 to 16 minutes, stirring frequently.

There is much more that you can do with canned crab meat, of course, so don't be afraid to experiment. Heck, I've even eaten crab straight from the can when I was too tired to do anything else. But finding imaginative ways to cook crab meat is the best use you can make of it.

How to Cook Canned Crab Meat

Sarah Sandori is the food and entertaining columnist for the Solid Gold Info Writers Consortium. Have you ever wanted to be able to exactly duplicate a favorite dish from a favorite restaurant? Check out Sarah's article where she reveals her source for the most mouth-watering secret restaurant recipes in America: http://www.solid-gold.info/most-wanted-recipes.html

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