backfin

noun

back·​fin ˈbak-ˌfin 

: white crabmeat from the area of the body near the hind swimming legs

Faidley's sells a crab cake made from claw meat for $4.50 and one made from backfin for $7.95 …

—R. W. Apple Jr., New York Times, 19 Feb. 2003

The beauty of backfin crab meat is its white, sweet chunkiness, but even the best quality crab must be picked over for bits of cartilage and shell that manage to elude skillful packers.

—Judith Huxley, Washington Post, 8 May 1983

Word History

First Known Use

1938, in the meaning defined above

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