If you're lucky enough to have access to fresh crab, you know there's no wrong way to eat it, whether you put in the effort for crab cakes or just steam some blue claws and serve them with drawn butter and a nice glass of wine. Unless you’re Italian.

If you’re Italian, then there's only one way to eat it: what my father-in-law calls "crab gravy." I'd been hearing about this family recipe since I caught my first blue claw, but it always sounded too complicated and too messy of an undertaking. Turns out, it's neither. Okay, it's a little messy, but well worth it.

You can buy whole crabs, but I prefer to be claws-on and catch my own. (Click here to find out where blue crabs live.) Just thread some bait (mossbunker, available in any bait shop, works great) on the wire clip of a crab line, tie one end off, and toss the other end in the water. Within minutes, you should be able to pull the line up and net the crustacean on the other end. As a rule, we only keep the males. Not sure how to tell? Flip them over and see what shape you find in the center of their bellies: If it looks more like the Washington Memorial, it's a boy; more like the Capitol building, a girl. There’s a good visual guide here, too. If you must go canned, try Wild Planet’s Dungeness. Different crab, slightly different flavor.

To clean blue crabs, use tongs to place a live crab, shell down, claws pointed away from you, on a cutting board. With a sharp knife, cut the crab in half vertically down the center with one swift motion.

For each halve, remove and discard the hard outer shell, reproductive organs, eyes, mandible, and gills. Leave the legs and claws attached. Swish each half vigorously in a bucket of cold water to clean completely, and then place in shallow baking pan filled with ice water until you’re ready to cook the crabs.

Okay, messy part's over. The mouthwatering part is about to begin. Now you're ready to make sauce:

Crab Gravy or Linguine with Crab Sauce
Family recipe courtesy of my father-in-law, Philip Cammarata

What you’ll need:
Olive oil
¼ Vidalia onion, chopped
1 clove garlic
6 to 8 blue claw crabs, halved and cleaned (or 12 oz. canned crab)
1 2-lb can tomato puree
1 6-oz can tomato paste
1½ tsp dried parsley flakes
1 tsp dried oregano flakes
4 large leaves fresh basil, chopped
1 Tbsp kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
¼ tsp hot pepper flakes (optional, but only if you're not Italian)
1 Tbsp sugar
½ lb linguine

How to make it:
1. In a pot large enough to accommodate all your crabs, sweat the onions in olive oil on low heat until they are soft and translucent, 5 to 10 minutes. Add garlic and cover. Cook until the onions are translucent, about 5 more minutes more, stirring occasionally to keep the garlic and onions from browning.
2. Add crab halves to the pot. Pour tomato puree over them to coat, along with tomato paste, parsley, oregano, basil, salt, pepper to taste, hot pepper flakes, and sugar. Stir gently to coat crab.
3. Turn heat to medium, cover, and simmer until the flavors begin to meld, about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover and simmer until the crabs are white and firm, another half hour.
4. Cook linguine according to package directions.
5. To serve, spoon sauce over linguine, and plate with crab. Serve extra sauce with some good Italian bread and enjoy with a green salad, good wine, and, if you're concerned about your clothes or furniture, a bib. 

Via: Cook Fresh Blue Claw Crab And Tomato Pasta