Shell We Eat?

Quite right, too. The tangy, slightly sweet meat of the blue crab needs no help from ambitious chefs. It's delicous eaten steamed, right out of the shell, its only accompaniment the seafood seasoning that comes off on your hands as you crack the carapace open. And in the traditional Chesapeake Bay crab cake, the meat requires nothing more than a modest amount of seasoning along with something to bind it. There are countless variants on the basic recipe, but typically the binding includes egg, mayonnaise and either cracker or bread crumbs. A few recipes include something to add crunch, such as chopped green pepper. And every now and then, an accident leads to discovery: I once knew a short-order cook in Annapolis who knocked an open half-bottle of Angustora bitters into a large bowl of prepared crab meat, enough for an entire lunch period. He cooked up a cake to see if he really needed to throw the meat out. It was pretty good. Crab meat can adapt to many seasonings--in moderation.

Here's a reliable recipe. It will serve four.

MARYLAND CRAB CAKES

1 pound crabmeat (fresh or pasteurized)
1/2 cup cracker crumbs (Saltines are good)
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Old Bay or Wye River seafood seasoning
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon dried mustard
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley

If available, buy crabmeat from the Chesapeake Bay, preferably lump or backfin. Pick through the meat for bits of shell and cartilage, and remove them. Set aside meat. Place all other ingredients but the cracker crumbs in a large bowl, and mix well. Add crabmeat, mixing gently: crabmeat doesn't like overhandling. Add cracker crumbs and mix gently. Shape the mixture into small patties. Do not pack. Refrigerate, covered with wax paper, for an hour.

Fry the cakes in vegetable oil until they turn golden brown, about four minutes per side. Remove with a slotted spatula and place on paper towels to drain. Serve with tartar sauce or Dijon mustard. French fries, coleslaw and buttered corn on the cob are classic accompaniments. Wine? Forget it. Drink beer or iced tea.