Crab meat is the cooked, extracted flesh of crab, sold fresh, pasteurized, canned, or frozen for use in dishes ranging from starters and salads to mains. Dungeness crab (Pacific coast), blue crab (Chesapeake Bay and Gulf of Mexico), snow crab (northern Pacific and Atlantic), and king crab (Bering Sea and North Pacific) are the species most commonly sold as crab meat, each with a slightly different flavor and texture.
It's sweet, delicate, and slightly briny, with a texture that ranges from flaky and tender to firm, depending on species and preparation. In Asian cooking, crab meat goes into crab rangoon, fried rice, and various crab cakes; in European and North American cooking, it appears in chowders, crab cakes, dips, and stuffed dishes, and in Japanese cooking it's used in sushi. It pairs well with citrus, herbs, butter, cream, and starchy or vegetable sides like corn or asparagus.
Because crab meat is delicate and cooks quickly, it's typically added toward the end of a dish or used cold, rather than cooked for extended periods.