Dr. Gourmet's Food Reviews

Blue Horizon Foods Crab Bites

I am always on the lookout for frozen seafood meals. This is by far the most challenging category for companies who create convenience meals because reheating seafood in the microwave or even in the oven is difficult because the fish can overcook so easily. It is true that when we have been disappointed by a dish from a company we are ready to put other meals from the same company to the test because there is no predicting good quality on brand alone. This is especially when there is seafood involved and so we chose to give Blue Horizon Wild another chance.

We were not all that impressed with Blue Horizon Wild "Bites" in our previous review. Trying to keep an open mind I picked up two of their crab products, Crab Bites and Maryland Crab Cakes for tasting.

First up was their Crab Bites in the same range as our previous review. I elected to bake these in the oven (there are, thankfully, no microwave instructions for these). The products take a LOT longer than the 20 minutes recommended - about 30 minutes for the bites and full 50 for the crab cakes to have the outside browned and crisp. I did bake them from frozen as this is what most folks would do. The instructions are not clear about this, however.

The Crab Bites are similar to the items we sampled previously. The Nutrition Facts are not all that encouraging with four small bites coming in at 85 calories and with a fair amount of salt at 323 mg sodium per serving. Much like the other bites in this line these are too, too salty and there's just not much food for the number of calories. Each of them is two small or one big bite making the whole experience feel skimpy. They have an overpowering crab flavor and a too creamy texture in the middle. One taster said "Yuck, that's a good way to turn your children off of fish forever."

The Crab Cakes, on the other hand, were a bit more encouraging with a single cake at 143 calories but only 352 milligrams of sodium.

The difference between these and the bites is pretty astounding. These are not the best crab cakes in the world but they are pretty good for being frozen food. The outside turned out slightly crispy and the inside has a good crab texture and flavor. Unlike the bites, the crab cakes have a mild crab flavor that was lightly herbed and not too salty. These would make a pretty good sandwich on soccer night with lettuce, tomatoes, a bit of tartar sauce and a whole grain bun.

We can now safely say that it is best to avoid ALL of the Blue Horizon Wild Bites. Their Crab Cakes are, however, pretty good and worth having in your freezer for emergencies. Now that we are one for five maybe we'll give them yet another try.

Reviewed: April 6, 2012