How to Cook and Clean a Fresh Dungeness Crab

Step 11 Extras

1) Use the last leg segment (the crab foot/toe) to pick meat out of the legs and body. It works just as well as those special forks and picks they'd like to sell you.

2) Sauce is really unnecessary if you've got good fresh crabs; a bit of fresh lemon is plenty for flavoring. If you've got extra, and end up picking and refrigerating the meat, this is more likely to need extra flavoring. The extra meat is good with garlic butter, fresh garlicky mayonnaise or a garlicky Caesar-style dressing, or with a lemon/garlic/olive oil mixture; put it on a slice of fresh bread for good measure. Crab cakes are always good, just don't dilute your good crab meat with too much buttery breadcrumby stuff.

3) If you've got the freezer space, tuck the shell pieces away for seafood stock. A pot full of fish trimmings, crab and shrimp shells, hopefully with a bit of meat stuck to the insides, will make a great base for seafood chowders. Just be sure you don't include any gills or guts.

Comments

[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!

[dryespo]

Instruction were basic and good. However, you should not really use words like icky, goo or ucky :-)

[ryoko1011]

I think it makes it fun and adds a bit of personality when "icky, goo or ucky." lol.

[Nasreen]

These instructions were awesome. It made our meal much easier and useful as well.

[canida]

Great- I'm so glad to have been able to help!

[justinm]

awsome instructions, just got back from Vancouver Island with pacific crab they are soooo good.

[freedomii]

They are infinitely better and soooo much cleaner if you break them in half and clean them, and then just cook the legs with attached shoulders... less mess, takes less space in the pot and you are not dealing with any of the inedible goop!

[canida]

I did this last time, and it worked quite well! While it meant I could get all four crabs into the pot at once, my guests were completely freaked out by the crab vivisection, and were almost put off their dinner. Not sure how that's much worse than boiling/steaming the little guys alive, but they found it less appealing.

[freebird314]

Do you clean your crab first before boiling or steaming? If, so how ?

[jlms]

For those out there that have qualms about putting a live crab (or lobster) in boiling water, you can put it in the freezer first for a few minutes, that will induce numbness on the crustacean.

[canida]

Good point! Thanks - I'll add it to the direction above.

[vocalman]

Thank you for the great instuctions! I just got done, now time to eat.

[cheeterrr]

This is great, I have never given a second look to them at the store. I didn't know how to prep them at all. I love crab but normally it's all done and I just heat and eat. Now I can try fresh crab at home. Thanks!

[dianneiyisan]

I want to say thank you SO much for the photographs that are clear. I boiled a couple of crabbies for my mother-in-law who doesn't speak english and me, and all I had to do was point to the photo. Not to mention, I had some learning to do myself! Thanks again! You should do one on lobsters, as I am planning on going to the market for lobsters later and again have no clue.

[canida]

Awesome! I'm glad it was helpful. I don't have access to lobsters right now, but it's not a particularly different operation. The legs and claws work pretty much like a crab's, except that the shell may be a bit harder. To get at the tail meat, first place the lobster on its stomach. Grab the tail section (abdomen) with one hand and the body (cephalothorax) with the other, and twist them apart. Clean out any bits of gut stuck to the tail meat (unless you like that type of thing) and dispose of the head or save it for stock. Now take the tail section, and squeeze the hard back shell so the edges almost touch across the belly - the thinner shell on the belly will fold and crack down the middle. Now put your fingers under the edges to pull the hard shell apart again, and the belly shell will split open, making it easy to remove the tail meat. Does that make sense?