how to clean a cooked blue crab

Rinse under cold running water. Carefully take your live crabs out of the ice water with tongs and place them into the … This prevents them over-cooking from the boiling water left trapped within the shell. 5. 3. Rinse under cold running water. To clean the crab: begin by removing the top shell. When cooked, the crabs will turn a bright red. Watch and learn as Captain Vincent Russo shows you how to clean your catch. Add water until there is about 3 inches in the bottom of the pot. Step 2: Boiling the whole crabs To boil 3 pounds live hard-shell blue crabs, bring 8 quarts water and 2 teaspoons salt to boiling in a 12- to 16-quart pot. To cook the crab, fill about 3/4th of a big pot with water and throw in a pinch of salt. Follow these steps to clean the live crab. Put thumb on back of top shell fingers on Once you have them sedated you will need a knife, running water, a huge trash bag and a place to put the clean crabs. Maryland Blue Crab. Bring the water to a roaring boil and use a pair of tongs to add the fresh crabs into the pot. Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in a medium saucepan. Place the steamer section into the pot, making sure the steamer is not touching the liquid. Spray the inside of the crabs with a hose and set aside. sadie423 from North Carolina on June 24, 2012: I have wonderful memories of crabbing as a child. The only bad way to eat blue crabs is so slowly that there's none left for you to have more. 2. Tie a chicken neck on the end of the line. Toss the whole cleaned crabs (or halves or quarters depending on the size) with some olive oil and maybe a minced clove of garlic or two, plus some chopped rosemary or thyme leaves if you like. To prevent the crab from drying out, you must boil or steam the meat. Put an couple inches of water into a big, sturdy pot. With your fingers or a knife remove sections a, b, and a (these are the lungs and innards). Once they are deemed ready, let them sit in some cold water for a while and cool down a little. For most of us, eating blue crabs is something that we've learned over the years from watching our dads and older brothers. Let me know if you are headed my way, and I will get the crab lines ready! DANGER. When the water is boiling, drop your crabs into the pot. Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil over a stovetop. Grasp crab by its legs and under top shell spine (stunned and can be handled bare handed). Cooking Live Crab: Cooking crabs alive – This can be a bit of a challenging feat because live crabs are feisty but the scrumptious rewards make the undertaking worth your while. Invert the crab, and pry off the apron (or tail flap), and discard it. Turn crab right side up again. Step 1: Prepping the whole crabs Grasp live crabs from behind, firmly holding the back two legs on each side. Use water pressure from a garden hose to spray out the gills and digestive tract. Use a garden hose to spray out the crab, leaving it clean and free of digestive tract and gill material. Brush the crab meat with butter or olive oil mixed and the seasonings and herbs of your choosing and cook on a medium-hot grill for approximately 4 minutes per side. Pry off the top shell using the shell's spine for leverage. Of course, lots of folks enjoy simple steamed blue crabs with some melted butter, cocktail sauce, … 3. Drain the cooked crabs in a large colander and put them under cold running water so that they can cool down to room temperature. Chesapeake blue crab has a stronger, richer flavor than mild Asian blue crabmeat, which is whiter in color. ; Set them on a hot grill until cooked through and browned, about 4 minutes per side. Scrub exterior shells and remove entrails, as chemicals concentrate in the crab’s digestive organs. Be sure not to pack them in too tightly. Once they are done, drop them briefly into the ice bath to stop the cooking process. Crack claws, and remove meat with a small cocktail fork. Cover the pot, put it on the stove or over a hot campfire, and bring the water to a rolling boil. 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. If you're drying the shell, give it a soapy scrub as well before leaving it in a warm, dry spot to dry out. Pull off the top shell … Here’s how it’s done:Remove the top shell, scrape away the gills, cut off the mouth, snap off the claws and the legs, and scoop out the fat. If you're new to … There Are a Myriad of Ways to Prepare This Sea Creature. Tie a piece of line on the pole long enough to match the handle. I cook my crabs in fresh water in a large pot and to the water I had approx 2 tablespoons of salt and 1 tablespoon of sugar. 1. Removing the Meat: 1. Boil or steam the crabs as outlined above for about 5 minutes, let them cool, then clean them. Once you have them sedated you will need a knife, running water, a huge trash bag and a place to put the clean crabs. Get a bucket and put a wet rag in the bottom. Let the crab cool for a minute before beginning the cleaning process. CBYC. know where to start "All in all, everything you have heard is true: it is messy, it requires some patience, it is work to get to the meat, but in the end, it is well worth it. Take pains to clean them well.Then thoroughly wash them under cold running water and set them aside to drain. Insert thumb under shell by apron hinge; … Mercury, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dioxins are especially harmful to babies and young children. Before you heat precooked crab, thaw the meat in the refrigerator for 24 hours if it is frozen. Be sure to remove the crab's green gland (tomalley). Then, clean your crabs. Blue crab is one of my favorite crustacean; the others are snow crab, king crab, Dungeness crab, lobster tail.. The crabs are now ready to be cooked. Clean the crab (see Resources 1 for crab-cleaning instructions with pictures). They must be kept alive (typically in aerated water) until they are cleaned and cooked. With your thumb or a knife point, pry off apron flap on the under side of crab. I also love crab legs and crawfish.. With this said, a layer of ice should be placed on the bottom of the ice chest, followed by wet burlap, and then the crabs. The crab is native to the waters of the western Atlantic Ocean and through the Gulf of Mexico. To get to cooked meat, first twist off crab legs and claws intact. I’ve used numerous blue crab recipes over the years. Leave it in the water for five minutes. I bring the water to the boil then drop in a couple crabs and place a lid on to speed it up coming back to the boil. Using the tongs, pick up a crab and place it in the bucket of ice water. Place the crab directly into the boiling water, if its shell is intact, and cover the pot with a lid. Similar to baking, grilled crabs should be pre-cooked half way—about 5 minutes in boiling water or the steamer—cooled and cleaned before heading to the grill. Pour the beer and vinegar in the bottom of the steamer pot. 5. How to Eat Blue Crabs Like a Pro. Start brushing the underside with a toothbrush or wait when the crab is lifeless. Cook them for about 25 to 30 minutes. Now all you need to do is find a place—creek bank, dock, bridge, pier or even surf—to crab. They go on to say if facilities for slushing do not exist, the blue crabs may be kept alive with ice, as long as they are protected from direct contact with the ice. Advertisement Soft-shell crabs about to … Once it has completely cooled down, take a layer of cling wrapper and wrap each blue crab individually. This double insulation will prevent any air from getting to the crab. 1. Cooked crab meat, if stored in an airtight container, can last three to five days refrigerated. Whether you catch the crabs yourself or buy them at your local fishmonger, you'll need to clean them thoroughly before cooking and eating. To clean the crabs: remove the top shell, the gills, the yellow "mustard", the eyes and the apron. This will stun the crab and prevent nasty pinches during the cleaning process. Live crab (fresh meat) should not be stored in the fridge. Allow each crab to cook for approximately 15 minutes (once they float to the top, give them an extra 2-3 minutes). We'll here are some instructions on how to clean the crab and get to the delicious meat in four easy steps. Stun live blue crab by placing in ice water for five minutes. After spraying the crab clean, there will be nothing left but shell and succulent crab meat. Put thumb on back of top shell fingers on front pry up and forward to remove shell. Putting a crab in the fridge will kill them and you should never cook a dead crab. 2. Now you're ready to fill it with crab salad, or a seasoned crab/breadcrumb mixture for baked stuffed crab. While eating crab in restaurants is fun, it's always a good thing, and a whole different experience, to buy one from the market and cook it at your own leisure. 6. Plus, it's an interesting enough sea food, that is surprisingly rather easy to cook. How to Clean Blue Crab before Cooking On a deep large pot submerge crabs in running hot water. Get maximum yield with EVERY CRAB! Take a layer of foil wrapper and wrap the blue crab again. Clean Before You Cook. For leverage is so slowly that there 's none left for you to have more five.! Richer flavor than mild Asian blue crabmeat, which is whiter in.. And digestive tract and gill material ready to fill it with crab salad or! Aerated water ) until they are deemed ready, let it sit to cool down to room temperature crab s... A dead crab the crabs as outlined above for about 5 minutes, let them sit some! 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