Crabs are a favorite among seafood lovers, especially when they are freshly slaughtered and cooked in various chilies, curries and spices or just steamed and eaten on its own. Not many people who love eating crabs know how to prepare live crabs for cooking. Preparing live crabs for cooking is an art of its own. When properly prepared, crabs become a delicacy on their own merit and the pleasure derived from eating them is multiplied.
Crabs are rampant in the coastal regions of Indian, Australian and Asian countries. As they are scavengers, it is relatively easy for them to survive where other animals perish for the lack of food. Although horror stories evolve around the bigger species of crabs such as its ability to feed on corpses 'buried' in the sea, crabs are still very much a delicacy among the Asians and the Indo-Chinese.
Crabs are cooked in so many different ways that it is impossible to grow sick of them. There is likely a different recipe for every day in a month! It is no wonder that crabs remain a key item on Asian seafood menus. The secret to the success of many delicious crab dishes lies in the special methods of preparing and cooking live crabs.
The color and shape of the shell of crabs distinguish the many species of crabs. Some are edible and favored over other species. Among the favored crabs are the Sri Lankan Crab, the Snow Crab, the blue and white Flower Crab and the Black Shell Crab. The Black Shell Crab are the most popular as they are cheaper, plentiful and succulent.
Crab meat varies in texture and taste, depending on the specie, the sex of the crab, its age and season. The flesh of female crabs tends to be stringier and much less succulent when they are harboring eggs. The nutrients they derive from their food seem to transform into their rich future - the bright yellow, orange or red roe that fill the hollow in their shell. If you do not fancy the cholesterol that accompanies the crab roe and would rather sink your teeth into sweet succulent crab meat anytime of the year, ask for the male crab.
Another factor determining the succulence of the crab meat is the molting process during which the crab sheds its older and smaller shell and grows a bigger one. Upon molting, the crab shell is soft and thin, leaving the crab vulnerable to attacks by their predators which include man! Molting takes place most often when the crabs are young. However, molting occurs in a crab right through the adult stage, as long as the crab continues to grow.
The commonly used but misunderstood term 'soft shelled crab' refers to a newly molted crab and not specie of crab with a perpetual soft shell. The Japanese turned the soft shelled crab into a delicacy. Whole crabs are fried with or without a coat of batter until they are crisp and then served piping hot and eaten, shell and all! This delicacy not only makes a delightful snack but is also rich in calcium and cholesterol. The poor things never get the chance to grow bigger than a toddler's fist and to land on the dinner table as a more exquisite and meaty delicacy.
Crabs are best cooked once they are slaughtered. Their meat tends to turn rancid once they die. This happens especially when they do not die immediately upon the first blow of the knife and struggle to keep their life. Tormented crabs produce lactic acid in their flesh and will not taste good.
Before you buy any, study how the crabs have been packed: tied up? Are only the pincers tied? Are the crabs free to roam and tied only upon selection? Are the crabs visibly stressed? Are bubbles appearing at mandibles?
Why do freshly slaughtered live crabs taste better than frozen ones? Imagine rigor mortis setting in as the poor crabs are first lulled into cold slumber and then frozen. As the frozen crabs thaw, their delicate flesh which is already damaged by the freezing discomfort goes through further damage by bacteria in the air as well as those which come alive again once removed from the frozen fate of their host. For the same reasons, it is thus better to eat freshly slaughtered crabs.
Methods deployed in slaughtering the crabs:
Method 1: Freezing
Use this method if you do not desire the crabs to suffer in boiling water, if you are afraid to stake the crab or if you do not know exactly when you would cook the crab. The crab is definitely spared from cruelty. However, we are not certain what its last thoughts are in the freezer! The crab meat would have lost its freshness and succulence.
Method 2: Driving a knife into the vital organs.
This is the quickest way to end the crab's life. However, you must be skilled enough to do so. Otherwise the crab will die a slow and excruciating death. Its flesh will also turn acidic and lose its sweetness and succulence. Locate the movable flap of the shell on the central underside of the crab. This flap is triangular and tapers towards the anal region of a male crab. A female crab has a round flap.
Experienced cooks will swiftly wrench the meaty portions from the crab shell seconds after plunging the knife in. Ensure that the pincers are still securely banded as the crab will fight to the last second! Rigor mortis also enables the pincers to do their work although they have been detached from the shell.
Method 3: Plunging into boiling water
Use this method if you will be removing the flesh for use in dishes. Death will be instant. Remove the crab once its shell turns red. Drain well.
Why is it important to give the crab shell a good scrub before or after slaughter? If you remember the crab's origin and the millions of micro-organisms found in the water community, there is no need for further explanation. A cheap toothbrush with bristles which adults use is good enough for the job. There is of course, no need for any toothpaste or detergent. A clean shell ensures that the soup, sauce or gravy which comes with the cooked crab will not be clouded by bits of soil or clay that has stuck to the crab's exterior since its capture.
What parts of the crab should be removed before you put the rest into the wok or the pot? Clearly, the parts are the sharp and spiky end segment of each leg, the modified flippers on the two legs nearest the pincers, the flap on the underside, the top shell, the mandibles, the gills on the top inner edge and the digestive system found between the two halves of the crab and the moveable flap.
Clearly, the body of the crab is divided into two distinct parts which can be pried off the shell with a knife or wrenched off by first grabbing hold of each pincer and giving the pincer a quick twist. The pincer will detach itself from the body easily. Next, grab hold of the four legs with a hand and the shell with the other and pull them apart. This is usually the stage after which the gills and end parts of the limbs are removed.
Is there a right way to cut up the crab's body to facilitate the removal of the meat? The fleshiest parts of the crab are its body, claws and legs.
The two halves of the crab's body are triangular, with the tapered end towards the middle of the shell and opposite the legs. If the crab is about the size of a child's palm, there is no need to cut up the halves. If the crab is bigger, section the halves by cutting between the legs and towards the tapered end. Never cut across the triangular halves.
The claws should never be broken for cooking, no matter how big they are. The stringy flesh in them will disintegrate into the gravy when cooked out of the shell. However, hairline fractures can be made from joint to mid section, to aid in cracking the shell during consumption.
The legs need no cracking either. Although usually served with a smaller portion of the meaty halves, they can be served separately as in the case of the larger Alaskan snow crab and the Hokkaido crab.
As crabs are high in cholesterol, it is recommended that they are eaten in small amounts alongside an array of other seafood for variety, meat, noodles or rice and vegetables. Crab lovers who are tempted to eat crabs every now and then should learn to prepare live crabs for cooking for the process will get them to know what goes into their stomach more intimately and appreciate all the hard work that goes into making delicious crab dishes.