Can Marylanders eat their crabs guilt-free? More or less

Memorial Day is regarded not just as a time to honor those who died in service to this country but the holiday weekend is the unofficial beginning of summer and with it, at least in Chesapeake Bay Country, the launch of blue crab season. Whether stuffed in rockfish, pan-fried as a soft-shell, broiled as a crab cake or — in its purest, most Maryland form — steamed in the shell with a good coating of peppery seasoning and picked apart on top of newspapers spread on a backyard picnic table, few native delicacies excite the local epicures (or pretty much all of us but the sadly allergic) like crabs.