Where's Marty? Celebrating National Crabmeat Day With Jimmy's

Hi everyone!

Wednesday is National Crabmeat Day. Here in Maryland we celebrate the blue crab with every breath. The Latin name for the critter is callinectes sapidus, which means "the beautiful swimmer," but we just call them "heaven in a shell."

This morning, we went to Jimmy's Famous Seafood in Dundalk, a family business that has been doing crabs for 48 years. As a matter of fact, 75% of Jimmy's menu involves crab in some form. Think about that!

Co-owners Tony and John Minadakis told me that the crab cake was originally made from the waste of picking the steamed crab. As Anthony Bourdain wrote in his book, "Medium Raw," these scraps were often given to the workers, and they dreamed up delicious ways of turning those leftovers into dinner.

Jimmy's alone goes through about 100,000 pounds of crab meat each year. Now think about your favorite crab restaurant, and how many restaurants in Maryland serve crab. The tonnage of crab meat removed from the Chesapeake is staggering. The Bay feeds a lot of people, so that's a great reason for us to do everything in our power to keep it clean and healthy.

Looking for a good read? In 1977, a book called "The Beautiful Swimmer" by William Warner won the Pulitzer Prize for non-fiction. It is all about the crab and is a short, easy read. Google it, then hop online and give it a shot. It's absolutely fascinating.

Everyone has their own way of opening a crab, and we have all seen folks struggle with the technique. To help or not to help? That is the question. But for our crab novices, check out the website for J. M. Clayton Company in Cambridge, one of Maryland's oldest seafood processing plants. On the front page, you'll find a link to videos that will show you how to get every tasty morsel out of the shell.

By the way, crab season opens in Maryland in a few weeks. Can't you just taste them and a cold beer now?

Marty B!