Why You Should Stop Buying Lump Crab Meat And Get Whole Crabs Instead

If you've ever had soft shell crab before, you already know the unbeatable dining experience it brings to the table. You can eat the whole thing, shell and all, enjoying every succulent bit of the crab. This includes parts you won't get to enjoy when you just buy lump crab meat. Naturally, I'm not saying lump crab meat doesn't have its place. Eating crab legs with drawn butter is an unbeatable dining experience, and loaded seafood nachos make for an unforgettable plate at any party. But, skimping on whole crabs means you're missing out on other parts of the crab that are edible (almost all of it, in fact).

First, you've got all the innards and juices inside of the shell. This is called tomalley, and you can find it inside lobsters, too. Depending on the crab you're eating, it can be thick and custardy or a little more like a salty and thin soup. It's jam-packed with umami brine and can taste a little like organ meat if you dig the liver and onions scene. You can cook it in the shell and eat it with rice or mix it into dishes that call for lump crab meat like pasta. It'll add a depth and complexity of flavor that elevates the whole thing. You'll just want to make sure you remove the crab lungs first, as these do not taste good and are hard to digest. 

The innards aren't the only good part about buying whole crabs, though. You can also use the crab shell in your cooking, even if you aren't eating soft shell crab. Tossing the shells into a pot and boiling them with other aromatics will give you a tasty crab stock, which you can use in other soups, stews, and sauces. You'll want about 2 pounds of crab shells for every quart of stock, but you can also supplement some of your crab with shrimp shells, tails, and heads. I love making this stock and adding it to my instant ramen just to spruce it up a bit, but it's great in real, not-dining-like-a-student recipes, too.

You can also use crab shells as a beautiful statement piece when you're serving dinner guests. My personal favorite is to make some fried rice mixed with the tomalley and crab meat and pile it high in a half-shell for a show-stopping plate. Not only is it fun to look at, but serving in the shell helps infuse your rice with even more crab flavor. Who's going to turn down a feast like that? Not your dinner guests, that's for sure.