The Chesapeake Bay's blue crab is Baltimore's favorite crustacean. Baltimore crab houses serve up piles of steamed crabs on brown paper for the diner to crack into with a mallet or a knife (see How to Eat a Crab and dig out a big hunk of lump crabmeat.
Maryland Is for Crabs
Though a crab feast of steamed hardshell crabs is tradition in Baltimore, Marylanders will dig into most any crab dish. Crab is such a versatile ingredient there's so much more to do with its sweet meat. These Maryland and Chesapeake Bay cookbooks have plenty more to say on the subject, but check out these crab recipes I collected from Guides all across the About.com network.