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A Guide to Eating Crab

A Guide to Eating Crab

by Mireille Kilgour : November 15th, 2013

Crab meat is sweet, delicate and versatile, and food lovers all over the world refer to it as one of the finest meats. With up to 8,000 species of crab in the world, it's little wonder so many chefs enjoy cooking with crab.

Most crabs are hard shelled, but soft-shelled blue crabs are a delicacy in many countries. They need to be bought from reputable sources, as crabs are highly perishable. Lifestyle Food suggested never buying a dead, uncooked crab.

When shopping for crabs, look for active crabs that feel surprisingly heavy.

When ordering crab in a restaurant, your crab should appear with its legs and feet drawn into the body. If the legs appear floppy, it may have already been dead when cooked, meaning the meat may already have started to perish.

When cooking a crab, it is thought kind to freeze the crab until it loses consciousness before dropping into a pot of boiling water. This process usually takes around 45 minutes.

Once unconscious, simmer your crab in a pot of salted water for 15 minutes per 500g.

To clean a crab, pull the top shell away from the bottom shell and remove the feathery gills and stomach sac. Snap off the mouth. The meat can then be picked out of the shells and claws. You'll have to crack the claws open to get at the meat.

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Mireille Kilgour

Mireille Kilgour has been an entrepreneur for 35 years in the hospitality sector. French born, she has been an accomplished business owner and operator for a number of Sydney venues. Leading the industry with high profile institutions such as Lamrock Café Bondi, she has endless passion for the industry, and now has the pleasure of supporting restaurants to fill their tables with the new Good Food Gift Card program.