Cooking Crabs For the First Time

Fresh crab meat is so full of flavor, it seldom requires any additions, though it can benefit from the right flavoring. Crab is one of my favorite foods, and I believe, it's hugely underrated. However, I think it is the idea of cooking and shelling crab that deters people from enjoying this delicacy in their home. If you are preparing crabs for the first time it might seem like a daunting task, but it's all about getting a hang of it. After one attempt, you'll find that there is really nothing to fear. Once you realize this, you can made a wide range of different preparations using fresh crab meat. Here are simple instructions about how to do it.

Instruction for Cooking Crabs

These steps are to be followed if you are cooking fresh crabs:

• The first step is to pick a crab. If you buy a live one, pick one that is heavy for its size. Coming to the part that many people dread; kill the crab. We suggest that you place the crab in the freezer for 1 hour, where it will 'go to sleep', which is possibly the most humane way of getting the job done.
• This step is optional, some people follow it while others don't. Take the crab out of the freezer and work on it as quickly as possible, raise the tail flap and push a skewer into the small 'dent' underneath and move it from side to side. Take out the skewer and push it pointing upwards through the mouth area, and repeat the sweeping motion.
• Take a large kettle/saucepan and half fill it with water and stir in quite a bit of salt. Place it on high heat and bring to a rolling boil. Lower the crab into the water and continue to boil. From the time the water starts boiling, you need to cook a crab of 2lb for 20 minutes. People are often puzzled about how long to cook a crab, so we recommend adding 5 minutes (after the first 20) for every additional pound.
• When the crab is done cooking, drain away the water and give it a rinse with fresh, clean water. Then wait till it cools to room temperature. While the crab cools, get a hold of a pair of angled tweezers and a heavy Deba style knife. Spread out some paper towel on the surface you plan to work on.
• Take a firm hold of the crab, and pull off the claws and legs, and keep them aside. Hold the crab head up and knock the bottom edge on a hard surface (ideally a chopping board). Place the crab dark side down and facing away from you, and put pressure with your thumbs to push the center up and out of the shell.
• The stomach sac which is just behind the crab's mouth needs to be thrown away. Remove and discard the soft gills which are attached to the edges of the core. Use the knife to cut the center into four parts, and remove the white flesh with the tweezers. Sit yourself comfortably before you start this, for it is a task requiring time and patience.
• To tackle the claws, crack them with the heel of your knife or a rolling pin and then remove the white flesh. Use a teaspoon to remove the brown meat from inside the shell, and wash out the shell. You may season the brown meat with a some black pepper and lime juice, and put it back into the shell in the middle. Arrange the white flesh in the shell around the brown, and serve.

With these instructions, you should sail through the process of cooking crabs for the first time. Once you've taken out the white meat and shredded it, you can use any cooking crabs recipe, to turn it into a delicious dish. If you don't want to take the effort, you can even just add it to a salad to make crab salad and also zing up a soup by adding some crab meat in it.