How to Eat Crabs

Posted on August 19th, 2009 by Elaine

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One of the finest seafood delicacies today is crab. Valued for their succulent and flavorful meat, crabs are definitely a delicious treat; the only problem is, eating them can be a bit messy and difficult. If you don’t know how to do it, then you won’t get to enjoy this seafood to the fullest. Here’s guide to help you out.

What You’ll Need:

Cooked crabs
Crab cracker
Paper or cloth bib
Dull knife
Fork
Crab mallet or crab cracker
Dip or sauce for the crab
Napkin
Soap and water

Procedure:

Prepare your dining table. Crabs can be a delicious, but messy treat. If you don’t want to ruin your linens, lay down some heavy Kraft paper or some butcher paper. These absorb the juice better and protects the table, too. Also, wash your hands. You’ll be touching the crabs with your bare hands. Put a bib around your neck or a napkin on

crab dinner

Make sure the crabs are thoroughly cooked. You’ll know they’re done when they are a deep red color.
One by one, pull the crab legs and claws off, with a twisting motion. If they won’t budge, use a dull knife to severe them from the joint. In some cases, white meat comes out with the leg. You can pick these up and eat them. Set all the claws and joints aside. You can throw away the fins, though.
Turn the crab over, so it’s bottom is facing up towards you. Look for a tab like structure; this is called the apron. Open this.
Hold the crab with both your hands, one hand on the top half and the other on the bottom half. Carefully and slowly pull the top shell off. Discard the shell.
You now see the inside of the crab, with plenty of stuff inside. Throw away the guts, intestines, bones and the gills. You’ll also see a yellowish creamy substance, called the “mustard”. Many people eat this, but if you don’t like the taste, you can throw it out too. You now see the crab’s bottom half with the middle cleaned out and the gills removed, showing the shell.
Take the bottom half of the crab, then break it apart. You can either cut it with a knife or with your hands. If using your hands, press the chambers down, then pull them apart. The meat is now exposed. Scoop the meat out with your hands or with a fork and eat it. Do the same for the other half.
When you’re done with the meat in the shell, you can now move on to the claws and legs.
If you have one of those hinged crab crackers at home, use them to crack the claws open. Once the hard shell breaks, the meat will be exposed.
If you don’t have a cracker, just use the dull knife and the crab mallet. Lay down the knife with its sharp side down, just at the middle of the claw’s red side. Hit the knife gently with the mallet, until it enters the claw halfway. Pivot the knife to the side, opening the claw and exposing the meat.
Don’t forget to dip your crab in your favorite sauce or seafood seasoning.
Wash your hands with soap and water when you’re done, to remove the fishy smell. (To create your own soap, read how to make homemade soap)

Crabs are delicious and eating them the right way is a must. It will be a messy task, but it’s definitely worth all the trouble. If you enjoyed reading this article, you’ll surely enjoy learning how to cook crab legs.