The saga of judging the best crab recipes began for this newspaper in 1985 and has continued through 2022 at the Crab Cooking Contest in Crisfield, Maryland. Always held the first weekend of September, this was the 58th contest which is one of the openers to the 75th National Hard Crab Derby.

It is amazing what contestants can do with one pound of crabmeat. They come from far and near to do so. The creativity of these cooks always seems to be endless and leaves you in awe. This year’s competition was the same, though no two years are ever alike. Creative new recipes abounded, include the use of watermelons in one case and pork chops in another, all backing up the crabmeat.

Many of this year’s contestants walked away with two or more trophies by entering more than one of the four categories: Appetizers, Soup, Crab Cakes, and Main Dishes. One family of three—mother, father and daughter from West Virginia and Troy, Virginia—won five trophies plus cash awards. Then there was a Crisf...