How to Cook and Clean a Fresh Dungeness Crab

If you live on the Pacific coast, this is necessary information! Dungeness crabs are a fantastically tasty treat, as well as a lean, healthy, delicious holiday tradition.  This Instructable will teach you how to cook and clean your own fresh Dungeness crab.

Why settle for soggy, pre-cooked and pre-picked crab when you can prepare it fresh? Here are the basic tips you need to host your own crab feed.

Step 1: Get a fresh crab

There are many options.

1) Go crabbing. Get your fishing license and set out some crab traps! If you've got a boat, or a friend with a boat, this should be easy. If not, consider getting a free boat.

2) Buy a fresh crab. Your local farmers' market might have a fresh crab stand; I got mine at the Oakland Grand Lake market. Seafood shops, yuppie grocers, and asian grocery stores may also carry fresh crab.

3) Buy a pre-cooked crab. This is sub-optimal, but will certainly do if you really can't find a live source or don't want to deal with live pinchers. In any case proceed to step 4 to clean your crab.

Note that a happy crab will be active and feisty when disturbed. Pick him up with tongs or carefully with your hands, making sure to grab at the back of the shell. The crab can reach pretty far back under his body to pinch, but your upper fingers are quite safe. You can also grab hold of a couple of back legs on either side to immobilize your crab, but be careful not to break them off.

Comments

[Geofficus]

...finally! Someone ELSE that knows this technique! I learned how when I was like 20 in Sooke BC (ironically where I now reside 19 years later) my GF's dad took me down to the docks, said "pull those up" so I hauled in two traps each containing about 50 or so...he quickly gauged them and tossed back about five or six only! He instructed me to grab them firmly with one side of legs in each hand (can't remember wearing gloves but I was pinched today by a keeper right on the end of my thumb!) and thrust them face first on a 1/2 " steel threaded rod that was protruding from the dock...snap them in half at that point, rinse in the sea and in the bucket they went!! Ate so much that Xmas dinner evening I never touched crab again for about five years.......deprived of fresh Dungies TILL NOW!!!! Nom nom nom nom nom the beach is forty steps away! nom nom nom nom

[jrohn]

A personal note on crabbing. I have seen some many people keep their caught crabs in a bucket of seawater. This will kill your catch before you can cook it. The crab will use up all the air in the water and actually drown.. I know people who left dead crabs in their bucket overnight before cooking and got sick from eating their crab. Just place them in a dry bucket!!

[ProfessorCat]

As bottom eaters, crabs filter the water through their gills so the gills are not edible.
But the other stuff in the shell is delicious! they are to the crab like what egg yolk is to an egg. Although some people don't like egg yolks, throwing it out is such a waste.

[cveale]

Crab gills are in no way or shape poisonous. They're just not edible, like feathers.

[Mech]

Dude...in this step, you're rinsing out the crab mustard! That stuff makes half the taste!

[TheCritic]

I agree 100%. Some people are just ignorant and to squeamish about the innards of the crab . Yet what they don't know is that they may be eating it when they go out to eat cause most GOOD restaurants use it as a sauce. All they need is to know how to prepare it.

[ryoko1011]

I love crab, but personally I never cared for the mustard very much...

[canida]

Yeah, but it's an acquired taste. People who need crab-cooking instructions definitely won't like it. :-)

[RoboticKop]

The gills are has a nice crunchy yet soft texture. what do you mean by not edible? Do you mean it does not have nutrients?

[TheCritic]

Gills are NOT an edible part of the crab IN NO WAY due to the toxins which may filter through them along with the bad texture and taste.

[SandySprueill]

I believe that what he means is that the gills are actually very bad for you. The gills are full of toxins and metals that the crab (a bottom feeder) has come into contact with during his lifetime.

I'm sure that they have a nice texture and may be completely edible for some species but for dungeness I would strongly suggest not eating the gills.

[psycho_candy]

Dude, I'm Asian, I think this guy is totally nuts for getting rid of all the "icky guts" of the crab. As Bunk said in the Wire: "Damn white people, throw away the best part of the crab." But you DON'T eat the gills on a Dungeness Crab, that is just plain WRONG.

[TheCritic]

I am from the states and I agree TOTALLY. HUGE FAIL THERE.

Can't believe how ignorant some people can be to throw away the best part of the crab. Most of ALL the micheline star restaurants use this to make a GREAT sauce to go along with the crab.

[toftie]

I would actually recommend the most humane and easy way (although takes a good stomach) is finding a spot outside with a sharp edge (counter top type edge) that is extremely sturdy. I actually use the stainless steel sink edge or the cleat (used to tie the boat to the dock) and you hold the live crab by it's legs in two hands (one hand on each side holding the legs together) right side up (hard full shell on top) and slam the front part of the shell (where the eyes are) down on the edge of the counter/cleat so as to completely rip the top shell off the crab. Kills them instantly and then you just run them through water and you can clean it perfectly without having to crack it in half or pull it apart. Keeps it nice and whole but clean if you wanted to cook it in spaghetti sauce for example. I could post some video or pictures if it would help.

[tmccloskey1]

My girlfriend does it this way and when she was explaining it to me, I didn't understand. Your directions make much more sense! Gonna try this next time!

[freebird314]

A video would be great. I perfer to steam my crabs, being I'm from the East Coast. Cleaning them first sounds like a great idea!

[tmccloskey1]

Thanks for the great information! I'm a "newbie" to this whole live crab thing. I love crab as does my family but I've always purchased it cooked, cleaned and cracked. I followed your instructions to a "T" and it was so incredibly easy! My 10 year old and I had 15 crabs cleaned "live" and the mess cleaned up within an hour! They are in the pot cooking as we speak! Thank you for making this so simple for me! Happy Thanksgiving!

[sauwen]

Noooo!! That gooey stuff is the best part!! Nom nom nom.

[calba]

When I eat crab or lobster, to get to the bones I use a compact letter opener—the ones with the razors.

[poj]

I can't believe that you're cleaning out the "guts" in your instructions. For many of us, that is called the "mustard." It adds so much taste. For those of us who actually know how to eat crab, eating it without the mustard is so bland. And for those that batter it, it takes away from the natural taste of it and makes it taste like anything else that is deep fried and battered. I wish more people could have an open mind instead of being "grossed out" by actually the best part.

[funkisockmunki]

It's also a safety issue. The guts are often high in levels of PBCs and other contaminants. They are bottom feeders ya know, and we've been polluting the heck out of the oceans for decades.

[funkisockmunki]

Great tutorial with beautiful pictures. I came here hoping to get up the courage to hunt and kill one for food while scuba diving, but have just lost my appetite. (no fault of yours, just wow, yuck!). I'll have to forward it to my friend to see if he is up for vivisection or ripping creature parts off and rinsing goo out of them. Thanks canida!

[ivy99]

very helpful tutorial but speaking as an asian person, i'm pretty horrified at the fact that you're removing all the good bits under the shell and rinsing it off... what a waste. i'd suggest putting some of the soft squishy bits on some rice. treat it like its a delicious pat of butter

[funkisockmunki]

On the flip side, I'm horrified at all the stuff my asian friends *will* eat. It's all a matter of perspective. Some of the guts and stuff are not safe to ingest, especially since crabs are bottom feeders. Great tutorial though, very nice photos!

[canida]

Sorry, suppose I was raised wrong.  Put up recipes!

[Blacksmith Spader]

Do you suppose you could send me some recipes? I have found that most people here in the states don't know much about how to live on fish and I am only used to fish and crab dried or boiled after being cleaned.

[tech53]

I was going to say that I'd thought I'd seen that dude on the food channel that goes around the world trying exotic cuisine eat that...and from what I could tell it was a rather normal thing....nehoo

[ANDY!]

Any tips on CATCHING CRABS?

[cmaguire1]

P.S. I'm assuming you mean the edible variety : -/

[cmaguire1]

I've found that crabs like shallow areas 3 or 4 hundred feet off shore. Mud flats are great. If you have some pots, set them for 4-6 hours. Crabs love turkey legs, chicken thighs (make sure they are not frozen so they are nice and stinky), and catfood. Also, if you were out clam digging before and butchered a bunch digging like I do sometimes =(, you use those too. When you pull up your pots, make sure the carapace is 6.5 inches in diameter and that they are male (you can tell by the narrow apron).

[crusty coyote]

Thank you so much, I found this DYI via google search for Dungeness crab. It was so helpful and interesting that I signed up!

I have never tried to cook crab, now with review of these instructions I will.

And i agree with you in the YUCK and icky thing, not a fan of "guts and their contents"!!!!

Again, thank you.

[angelabchua]

Awesome!

And i concur christy, best crab " how to" i have seen!

[PikminRed]

Yah. Our local Asian market sells live crab. and you cook it alive?!?! D: Im not a person for killing things D: why are the gills inedible. Is there some way to kill the crab instantly? I hate killing anything, even the guppies from our lake, let alone the fish. It was hard to watch the tiny fish being killed, even though it was a fish and about 4 inches long.

[Artanis_Regnis]

Mystery  crab goo? That's my favorite. I use it for toothpaste!    ; )

[PikminRed]

D:

[Artanis_Regnis]

One thing I found very helpful when eating crab is using a pair of kitchen shears to simply cut down one side of a leg. Meat comes out rather easy that way.

[canida]

Helpful hint, thanks! I'll add it to the Instructable.

[Don,t try this at home]

maryland blue crab is better lol

[Raiden97]

is that alive? youre holding the swimming fin thingys

[canida]

Yes, I bought live crabs.  Really the only way to be sure they're fresh!