18 January, 2008

Fishy Delights 8: Chicken of the Sea Premium Crab


18-01-08_1113.jpg at Flickr

When choosing crabmeat, canned has never been my first choice. Picking a crab is tedious work, but the quality of fresh-picked crab is so much better than just about any alternative that I really don't mind (though some brands of frozen crabmeat come up a close second.)

But I kept hearing good things about these new "pouched" seafood things, so when one of the local markets had a sale on their Chicken of the Sea brands, I thought maybe it was worth a try.

It would be a lie to say that I was disappointed, because I didn't have very high expectations to begin with, so let's just say that I got exactly what I thought I was going to get, no more and no less.

Even given that the picture on the front label of the pouch was most likely a highly retouched, best case scenario, the crab inside looked nothing like the photo. There were no enticingly pink edges, and far more little shreds than the package art suggested. Instead, the crabmeat was bone-white, in tiny bits that looked like they were picked from the body clusters of small crabs.

Afteer pouring off the processing water, I was left with a smidge over two ounces of the most bland and flavorless crab I have ever tasted. I might as well have been eating surimi, it was that dull. Even adding some mayo and relish to make an impromptu crab salad didn't help - it was like eating mayo and relish on a cracker. Blah.

To add insult to injury, Chicken of the Sea gives a stunningly awful recipe for "easy crab cakes" on the back of the pouch. The recipe calls more more filler than crab. Feh.


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