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Cleaning
Pick up your crab from the pile and place it upside-down in front of you. Remember, the
heavier the crab, the more meat inside. |
Remove all of the legs and both claws. Reserve the claws
since they contain several large pieces of meat. Save any meat that pulls out of the body
when removing the legs and claws. |
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With a knife or claw tip, pry up the apron and completely remove it along
with any external organs. |
With the apron removed, a small protrusion will exist
from where the apron was attached. Use this protrusion to help you pry off and discard the
top shell. |
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Remove and discard the gills, or "dead man's fingers" which
appear spongy. Remove the internal organs and the mouth shells and discard. |
Picking
Completely cleaned and ready for picking, the body should contain nothing
but succulent white meat encased in the shell. Any remaining fat, or "mustard",
is edible and adds considerable flavor to the meat. |
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Break the body into halves and begin picking out the meat. The area where
the rear-most paddle fins were attached will yield large nuggets of meat, or "backfin
meat". The other chambers must be carefully picked clean. |
Crack open the claws with a wooden hammer or the handle
of a butter knife to get to the claw meat. Both sections of the claw contain large chunks
of meat. |
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