Linda, I hear ya! I live in So Cal and don't see crab that hasn't been frozen or canned. I know it exists because I've eaten it out in good restaurants, but I'm not seeing it around. I can't stand the salty/watery or tasteless stuff that I can buy.
Recently I needed crab for a recipe. The author of the recipe suggested the canned crab from Costco. We found it to be tasteless, nothing like the sweet crabmeat that I can find in an expensive cocktail at a fine restaurant.

Thirty years ago I bought the most delicious Dungeness crabs and we'd have them with crusty bread and a good white wine for dinner. At today's prices, I've given up on buying them, we've been disappointed all too often.

The best crab meat you can buy, IMO, is the kind found in one pound pasteurized tins. These tins will be in the refrigerated case in the fish department. They are not frozen but must be kept refrigerated.

This crab will be lump (or back fin) meat from blue crabs. The crabs have been cooked before shelling but the meat has not been processed at high temperature as has regular canned crab. It is comparable to what you would get if you bought live crabs and steamed them yourself.

Jim

I agree with Jim.....but if you can't find that.....surimi crab ( fake crab!) is preferable to that fishy tasting canned mush!
Linda C

Linda, you're kidding, right?

I have not seen canned, pasteurized crab in the grocery stores near me. I did buy a can from Trader Joe's once, and it was not very good.

Jim, is there a certain brand you buy? Maybe someone knows of an onine source to order decent crab meat?

I've got a craving for crab cakes, but won't waste my money on the crab I can get here.

Linda

Ellen, I can buy live Dungeness Crab year around here. Just about every grocery store has a tank. Prices vary though. Sometimes they are on sale for $4.99 a pound but usually they sell between $5.99 and $8.99 a pound.

I can also buy frozen king crab legs and snow crab legs and both have been wonderful. I let the king crab legs thaw in the fridge over night and then I just steam them in a small amount of water until they are heated through. Never smelly or fishy.

The last can of Pastuerized canned crab I bought, was in the fridge for a couple of weeks and when I opened it it was rotten. It had an expiry date that was well in the future so it should have been good. I haven't bought one since. Although I probably will again at some point. The brand was Phillips.

Ann

Speaking of fresh crab, does anyone buy fresh shellfish from Costco? I always look at the display but never buy.

"Jim, is there a certain brand you buy?"

Sorry. I haven't bought any in years. For that kind of money I would rather buy something else. Or, buy or catch live crabs. Picking as you eat is slow, so you can't be a glutton. :-) I would look for pasteurized blue crab packed in Maryland. It's a pretty big industry there.

Possibly, the spoiled stuff Ann got was unrefrigerated somewhere in transit. Just a guess.

Jim

I usually get refrigerated, canned Blue Star super lump at Costco; beats anything else I have found in this area of the country.

I tried that "fake crab" and found it to be inedible. I would rather go without than have to eat stuff that again, but that is just my opinion. And we all know what they say about opinions!

I actually kind of like seafood salad made with the fake stuff, but in a hot dish it doesn't usually cut it for me.

Phillips is the main one I see around here. Of course, behind the Maryland facade is the fact that Phillips pioneered farming them in Taiwan or something like that.

Sue, the "fresh" crab legs at our Costco are frozen and defrosted. I tried it once and tossed it. They were watery and salty, we both found them inedible. The canned crab that I bought at Costco was totally edible and would work in a cooked dish like crab cakes or deviled crab, but not on a salad or eaten out of hand. It had no taste.

Thanks compumom - they always looks so good in that big display, but I won't waste my money!

I'm lucky enough to have fresh lump crabmeat here in Jersey. After living in Maryland for many years, I couldn't move somewhere that it's not available ;)

We have Dungeness crabs on sale at Raley's right now for $3.99 a lbs. and they will clean them for you.
I'm sure they come in from San Fransico....we are also lucky to get fresh lump crabmeat here in Reno too...
Linda

I just used some canned crab and was very disappointed. I wanted to make crabcakes. I bought a can of the stuff they sell refridgerated with the fish that jimster talked about, but I haven't tried it yet. I actually put the can in the freezer because I wasn't sure when I'd use it - hope I didn't ruin it!!

And I'm another one that likes that "fake" crabmeat to make cold salad with. Actually, they don't even call it crab anymore around here - I always see it labeled as "seafood salad". Anyway, I'm picky about fish - this is going to sound stupid, but I don't like "fishy" fish. I pretty much only eat broiled cod/haddock, or shrimp. But I do like crabcakes and a handful of other seafood dishes. So to me, the "fake" stuff is very mild and (I know this is heresy!) I actually prefer it to real crabmeat salad!! *Lisa ducks and runs for cover* :)

Lisa

Lisa, I'm not a big fish eater either. The only fish I really like is Halibut. And I don't really like shrimp,but I love the local spot prawns that we get for a short 6 weeks in the spring. I do like real crab and lobster too. One of the reasons I don't like the fake stuff is because to me it does taste fishy. Plus it looks weird with red food colouring.

No need to duck and run though. I'll just let you have my share of the fake stuff and I'll eat your share of real crab. LOL!

Ann

Fake crab meat is a special type of kamaboko, a Japanese invention which is, in English, is called fish paste or fish cake. In its original form it doesn't simulate anything. I like the fake crab, not as a substitute for real crab meat but in its own right in salad or in soup or saimin (a Hawaiian noodle dish).

Jim

Here is a link that might be useful: Kamaboko

I live in Annapolis. To my knowledge, none of Phillips crabmeat is Maryland crab - it is from overseas. They have closed the restaurant in Annapolis and I would avoid buying their seafood if you want authentic crab meat (like from the USA) . They used to be a family owned restaurant at the beach many years ago, where you stood in line for hours to get a table - back in the good old days!
Below is a locally owned Seafood Market. Google Annapolis Seafood Market to look at their website. I have no business interest in them other than as a customer.
If you really want fresh crab and you want to pay the shipping, I highly recommend them. This time of year the crabs are not from the Chesapeake Bay.
I would never buy crab in a can / tin - pasteurized - changes the texture as well as the taste.
Anytime you buy frozen crab meat - thaw it in the frig - container upside down. A tip from a friend who was a Maryland seafood distributor.
from Annapolis Seafood Market
"We ship seafood to anywhere in the United States

Air Crab Flyer

To place an order, please call:
1-866-862-CRAB (2722)
or e-mail us at aircrab@annapolisseafoodmarket.com."

Jim : Good tip on the Crabmeat.
I use the Imitation Crabmeat for Fishcakes, because I thought it was Haddock.
I think you can tell if Steamed Crabs are good if the legs move and are not stiff.
They were cooked live.

Mago:
I don't have time now but I have to read thru your Post.

My Daughter makes Crab Cakes; with no filler, to sell.
She needs an outlet for good Crabmeat.
LOU

Try going to a Japanese market. I got Alaskan King Crab Legs there for $12 a pound. They had been frozen but were still excellent - it's what I usually buy. Otherwise I go to Santa Monica Seafood Market, and they have a very good selection of crab meat by the pound, already shelled. I don't think they have live crabs, but I can find those in supermarkets in my neighborhood. If you don't have a Japanese market close by, go to a Vietnamese market - they always have live crabs. I prefer to go to a seafood market and buy the crab already cooked and shelled, if it is Dungeness crab.

As for the canned stuff - I buy Flower brand crab meat in a jar, and it does not have the metallic taste of crab from a can. It comes from Sun Hing Foods in South San Francisco, but I buy it at my local Lebanese market. Since Lebanon is part of Asia, they call themselves an Asian market and sell food from from India, Malaysia, etc., as well as from Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey.

Lars

LOL, Lars! There is not a Japanese of a Vietnamese market within at least 50 miles of me!

You are so fortunate to have all of those fun shopping venues near you. I know where there are some Asian markets in Minneapolis, but again....an hour away. I'll have to check them next time I get to the city.

Magothy...I checked out the website for the fish market you posted, but they do not list what they sell nor prices. I guess I'll have to call to find out what I can get from them. Thanks!

Linda