I love crab! But here the seafood counter crab is not fresh, but is still really expensive.
So for things like crab cakes, quiches, bisques, rangoons, and various casserole dishes I thought I’d go with canned. I went with a brand I used to respect (BumbleBee) and it was garbage.
So do any of you have recommendations for good canned crab meat?
Try a fancy white Lump - not sure which brands are available in your area.
Wow! $72 for a pound (4- 4 oz cans) of canned crab?! That seems crazy.
I think I’ll revisit the seafood counter.
Try Amazon:
Thanks, but not highly rated. Plus i’d like to buy one can to check before committing a dozen cans.
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BTW, have you actually tried this… and is it good? A quarter of all reviews are one star, and that doesn’t bode well based on my decades of experience of Amazon reviews.
I have not tried the Crown-Prince and am not familiar with the BumbleBee brand which you did not enjoy.
I’m happy with what I purchase at the grocery store Clover Leaf canned crab meat (I have purchased frozen as well).
Yet was reluctant to suggest that because of not knowing the BumbleBee brand that you were disappointed in, I had nothing to compare it to.
The reviews, in general, seemed favourable for the Crown- Prince on Amazon (and there were many reviews for you to peruse) the website below also mentions Crown-Prince as their top pick (not sure who sponsored it).
Therefore the Crown-Prince seemed like a safer bet and more reasonably priced than the Oregon Dungeness suggested above.
Plus you could contact the seller on Amazon and inquire about refunds (if you happen to be disatisfied with the quality of the product) before purchasing the product.
It also gives an opportunity for someone who has tried the product to chime in.
Heres another review:
I buy Phillips from my local market.
I don’t. But if you want Dungeness, come through Country Square Market in Vacaville in season and at least get the stuff in tanks! I know… Off topic.
watch the fine print.
most crab from Asia is “swimming crab” - it is a crab, but not the same as a Chesapeake blue claw crab.
crab - blue claw = Callinectes sapidus
crab - swimming / asian / south american = Portunus armatus formerly Portunus pelagicus
they are not the same crab, they do not taste the same.
if the can is not labelled with the species, don’t buy it - crab is too expensive to be buying off-tasting stuff.
I don’t disagree.
Thanks… my experience with crab has been King Crab (in restaurants), and the Dungeness I used to catch when I was diving off the CA coast… but all of that was a while ago.
Given the recently purchased Bumble Bee stuff was REALLY disappointing, and that it was rated third of the 7 best options you linked to, I am guessing canned crab is not for me.
Your post came to mind when I was buying frozen crab cakes at the seafood counter this past weekend. Now and then I will turn a crab cake into crab dip because canned crab I can buy at my supermarket is so disappointing.
We enjoy the flavor of the crab cakes I can get locally, and I learned they are sourced from a company called Handy Seafood. I admit to not probing before about the source of the crabmeat in these “Maryland-style” crab cakes I’ve bought, which turns out to be Indonesia. Though I would much prefer domestically sourced product we like the flavor of these particular ones.
Prices for premium-type canned crab are eye-wateringly high, but a single crab cake is much less of a commitment so I may get more adventurous with my repurposing in the future.
I’ve had better luck with frozen vacuum-sealed crab than canned crab recently. I still rinse it.
Frozen vacuum-sealed North American crab is much much better than the frozen Chinese crab available here in Canada, so check the label to see the origin. I rinse it and drain it in a cheesecloth before using to get rid of the preservatives.
From my experience, there is no good version of shelf stable “canned crab.” All I have sampled are mediocre. If you want good picked crab, you have to pay up and get the type that is kept cold on ice at the seafood market or seafood section of your local megamart. If you have picked a meal of crab, you will understand why it costs what it does. Anything that is a bargain isn’t worth eating on its own.
“Handy” sells Portunus pelagicus/ Asian Blue Swimmer Crab. Although it started as a Maryland Company I do not think any of their Products are made with Callinectes sapidus/ Blue Crab.
This looks worth a try. It is a Safeway brand, and I have had good luck with their frozen shrimp (although the deveining needs a little touch up).
https://www.safeway.com/shop/product-details.970106895.html
Nothing but crab and salt, sourced from Canada.
Agreed. I have had good luck with the refrigerated products at both Restaurant Depot and Costco, but they are not cheap - Restaurant Depot’s products range from $50-70 per pound (last time I checked, anyway), depending on grade.
