In a state whose life's blood is seafood, coauthors Jerald and Glenda Horst take the guesswork out of where your dinner comes from. The third volume in the Louisiana Seafood Bible Series, this guide gives an insider's view of crabbers, the lifecycle of crabs, and all the secrets to making distinctive Southern seafood dishes.

Jerald Horst spends a day with a family of crabbers out on their boat and learns about the process of harvesting soft-shell crabs before factories took away the need to battle with mosquitoes and inclement weather. He explains the cult of the blue crab, which developed around crab cakes and steamed crabs, and crab language, including twenty-seven terms used to categorize them.

Instructions and advice on buying crabs, as well as peeling them, cleaning them, and boiling them with claws intact, have been contributed after a lifetime of fisheries experience. This know-how combined with the proper ingredients and just the right touch can produce such singular results as Louisiana Blue Crab Cakes, Regal Crabmeat Salad, Crab-Stuffed Mushrooms, and Seafood Mirliton Casserole. The authors have personally tested each dish to present the most delicious and original meals the state has to offer.