Time to get to work.
Time to get messy.
Time to get cracking.
Indeed it was when a “Best Sellers Sampler” showed up on my porch last week as a sample to try from Maryland-based Cameron’s Seafood.
The company was founded in 1985 and remains family-owned. It specializes in Maryland crabs from the Chesapeake Bay, where the climate is colder, thereby building up an extra layer of fat on the crabs that burrow into the mud during winter. For crab lovers, that means crabs with flesh that’s buttery, sweet and rich tasting.
The bountiful “Best Sellers Sampler” ($99.99) includes 1/2 a dozen Maryland blue crabs, 1 pound spiced shrimp, 2 crab cakes and 16 ounces of crab bisque.
Just heat up the bisque and sear the crab cakes in a little butter in a pan, and you’re good to go. The bisque is definitely pastier in body than I normally would prefer. The taste, however, is full of the sea with a little peppery finish. There are bite-size pieces of crab in it throughout, too.
The crab cakes arrive in little sealed plastic cups. Unmold them, and press them down slightly in a frying pan to sear.
The crab cakes are full of lump meat with just enough breadcrumbs to hold them together.
The shrimp and crabs are fully cooked, so you can enjoy them cold or reheated by steaming or roasting.
I ate the shrimp cold, and yes, you do have to peel them. They’re spiced, but mildly so.
You’ll also get your hands dirty when you eat the crabs. I’m used to much larger Dungeness crabs where you don’t have to work so hard to extract the flesh. With smaller blue crabs, you’ll have to poke and prod a little harder, especially with the skinnier legs, but it’s worth it once you get a taste of the tender, fluffy meat.
The crabs are plenty spicy. They are also very salty, especially if you eat them cold. I ended up rinsing them in water to wash off some of the salt. Even doing that, you could still taste the peppery seasonings plenty, as they do permeate the flesh. If you steam the crabs, the saltiness will probably be mitigated somewhat by the water in the pot.
With some crusty bread, the sampler is definitely enough for two to three to enjoy.
Cameron’s just started offering home delivery last year. Just think, a taste of the Maryland shore — no matter where you live.
For $10 off your first order, click here.
FOOD GAL CONTEST: One lucky Food Gal reader will win a “Best Sellers Sampler,” courtesy of Cameron’s Seafood.
Entries, limited to those residing in the continental United States, will be accepted through midnight PST May 5. The winner will be announced May 7.
How to win?
You’ve already learned that eating this seafood feast requires a bit of work. Tell me the best lesson you’ve learned over the years from the work that you do. Most memorable answer wins.
Here’s my own:
“Sitting around the Christmas table one year, my older brothers and I recounted how each of us as teenagers worked a summer or two at my Dad’s employer’s offices to earn extra spending money. It was tedious work to be sure — filing receipts and alphabetizing papers, day after day. It was definitely a job where you couldn’t help but watch the clock or find yourself daydreaming, anything to help pass the time. One of my brothers and I did the job handily, finishing the work at hand, often faster than the boss expected. But my other brother apparently filled the hours by doing the least amount of work possible, a move that landed him in hot water with both my Dad and my Dad’s boss. As we reminisced about those days at the dinner table, my proficient brother said in conclusion, ‘It almost takes more effort to do nothing than it does to do the actual work itself. So why not just do the work?’ Bingo. It made me realize that’s one of the biggest lessons I’ve learn in life — that it really doesn’t require that much more exertion to do a job well than to do it half-baked. So why not do it the best you can to reap so much more satisfaction in the end?”