You can give them a rinse under cool water to speed up the process. Thanks to the high heat of the broiler, the crab legs will also gain a little bit of caramelization using this method, adding an extra layer of flavor. The Spruce Eats uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience. Live crab storing, preparation and cooking, The method used is kindest to the fish and it causes no suffering, If you put a crab straight into boiling water, it will shed its legs and claws and it does suffer, Not killing the crab makes the meat tough and retains too much water in the shell, Using the largest saucepan/fish kettle you have, half fill with fresh water and add plenty of salt. Add the rock salt, sliced lemon, white wine vinegar, star anise and wine. So, how do you get to all that yummy meat? If you've purchased your blue claw crabs from a seafood market, they should be nice and clean already. And when they die, the meat quickly starts to spoil. With some force, insert a sturdy knife or screwdriver into the hole until you feel it touch the other side of the shell. Whether you are cooking summer blue crabs in Maryland or winter Dungeness crabs in California, the sweetest, most tender crab is a fresh crab, just-cooked. Take a knife and gently pry up the triangular piece of shell called the apron and remove it altogether. Steamed Blue Crab Cooking Directions Bring the water, vinegar (or beer), and salt to a boil in your large pot and add in 2 tbsp of the Old Bay seasoning. Put the crab on its back with the eyes towards you and, using both hands, push up the six legs. Most sheet pans can only hold about 1 pound of crab legs at a time. Lay the crab dark side down with the head pointing forwards and use the thumbs to push the centre up and out of the shell. A pot full of fish trimmings, crab and shrimp shells, hopefully with a bit of meat stuck to the insides, will make a great base for seafood chowders. Live brown crabs can stay alive for three to four days if they are kept cold and damp, ideally in the bottom if your fridge covered with a damp cloth. Store the crate in a cool, shady spot, and keep the burlap damp. Avoid crabs that have a lot of water sloshing around inside them and those that feel a bit light for their size – the shell size of a crab doesn’t actually indicate how much meat it contains. Return the liquid to the pot and bring back to the boil. Live crabs should be stored in the bottom of the fridge and covered with a damp tea towel. Steaming is a classic way to cook blue crab. 3) If you've got the freezer space, tuck the shell pieces away for seafood stock. Must-Have Crab Eating Tools. Drain crabs; to be able to handle quickly, rinse briefly with cool water. If you are cooking fresh crabs, they must be alive. Repeat for the legs and use the crab meat as required. Required fields are marked *, Cameron’s Seafood ships fresh, 100% authentic Maryland crabs, crab cakes, crab soups and fresh seafood to your door. A blue crab's claws are strong. Crabs are prolific creatures, with over 4000 species scuttling around the world's ocean floors. Now it's time to dive in and gobble up the sweet, succulent crabmeat! Get Fish by Post the proper way, with Fish for Thought. Finally turn the crab right side up and allow it to drain. You could also poke a butter knife or icepick into the head area of the crab after pulling it out of the ice bath to kill it instantly. Be sure not to pack them in too tightly. Some people prefer to clean their crab at the beginning of the cooking process, but we are going to show you how to clean them after they have been cooked. that the safest way to handle a live blue crab is from a distance - with a set of long-handled barbecue tongs. Extracting meat from the legs is fiddly, so unless you really need the meat, save them for a bisque. Turn the crab back over and drain the liquid that will run out. We use 20 mins for crabs up to 2lb and add 5 mins per pound over that When the time is up, carefully pour the whole lot into your sink and wash off the … Put the crabs in a steamer basket or insert or simply pile them into the pot and let the bottom crabs boil slightly and act as a platform for the other crabs to steam. "Bad" crabmeat can make you very sick. Pull off the knuckles from the claws and pick out the meat with a skewer or small, sharp knife. As with grilled crabs, you need to quickly boil or steam them and clean them first. A half crab on a plate makes for a very nice presentation. A 1.2kg crab yields about 250g white meat and 120g brown meat. Couldn't be easier! Click here to order your crab-eating tools now! Toss the whole cleaned crabs (or halves or quarters depending on the size) with some. Here are a a couple of methods of killing a crab to cook… Put the crab straight into boiling water which will kill it within 10 seconds. Instead, choose a weighty, lively crab and don’t forget to keep the claws firmly closed with the help of rubber bands! Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Don't risk it! And quite frankly, whenever you try your hand at a new recipe or ingredient, you could face certain ‘issues’. As an alternative method, placing a wooden board on top of the crab, then hitting the board with a large hammer, also works well. Cover and cook 10 to 20 minutes, depending on the size of the crabs. This will stun the crabs a bit so that they are less aware of what is going on. You can order your live Maryland blue crabs from our online seafood store. FTC Disclosure:  If you make a purchase via a link on this site, I may receive a small commission on the transaction - at no added cost to you. That's usually enough to remove any lingering seaweed or gunk. Put an couple inches of water into a big, sturdy pot. This page is intended to be a brief guide for the uninitiated. Flip the crab onto its belly and remove the gills, they are not very tender or delicious. These contain most of the white meat. Use your hands to break each claw apart at the joint and then tap the sections of claw with the seafood mallet. Place in a sieve and rub through into a bowl using the back of a wooden spoon. A few minutes in a bowl of ice water puts live crabs into a dormant state, making their ultimate demise a bit less harrowing for all involved. Crabs are best cooked immediately after killing, so ask the fishmonger to kill the crab, then take it home and cook as soon as possible. In Nigel Haworth’s dish, he batters and deep fries crab claws and makes ‘crab balls’ out of the brown meat – a great way to show off the whole crab. When water resumes boiling, reduce heat to a simmer. You can buy ready-picked crabmeat packed into oval shells, but the white and brown crabmeat is sold layered together, with the brown meat mixed with some breadcrumbs. That's moving the little devils from their storage container into the pot, while their claws are trying to fend you off. To kill the crab, turn it over and lift up the small pointed flap – you will see a small hole. When crabs are left in standing water for more than a few minutes, they use up all the available oxygen and die. Add 3 litres water, bring to the boil and simmer for 30 mins. If buying a whole cooked crab, make sure that they have all their pincers and legs intact – loss of limbs may indicate that they have been poorly cooked and stored. An alternative method sometimes used is to put them in fresh water and leave them for about thirty minutes, by which time they should have drowned. Using a teaspoon, scoop out the brown meat from inside the shell. Cook for 6 minutes (adjust cooking time according to weight, as explained above). Cooking crab for the very first time may seem challenging. If you are looking for larger quantities of white meat, opt for cock (male) crabs which have bigger claws; if you want more brown meat, choose a hen (female). Amenities like roll-in showers, visual ... Cape Days: Your Go To Cape Cod Guide SMCopyright 2008-2020 - Doné R. ("Dee") Youngd/b/a CapeDays.com, * As an Amazon Affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases. To prepare the crab, lay the crab on its back and twist off the front black-tipped claws. Now it's time to dive in and gobble up the sweet, succulent crabmeat! Lower in the crab and simmer for 12 mins per kg, then leave to cool in the pot until cold. You've cooked 'em. And crabs are incredibly tenacious. The white meat also works brilliantly in crab cakes – Shaun Rankin looks to Asia with his Crispy crab, sweetcorn and coriander fritters while Vineet Bhatia has created a South Indian crab cake with crab chutney. Dressed crab is a great addition to salads and sandwiches too. But, but, but… before you put your plans of cooking crab legs on the back burner, we have some exciting news. Recipe from Good Food magazine, June 2005, New! Allow time to cool, then follow the preparation instructions below; Twist off the claws and legs and put aside. Some people swear by adding beer or white wine to the water. At Fish for Thought, we are on a mission to change the way people enjoy fish and shellfish forever. Once the water has started to boil again, reduce the heat and simmer for the required time.

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