Shelling crab is an essential skill to master if you want to create delicious and nutritious dishes from this fresh and flavorful ingredient. Pre-shelled crab meat can be used in a variety of nutritious soups, stir-fries, and fried spring rolls. The following simple guide on how to shell sea crab will help you make the most of the crab meat, ensuring none of it goes to waste.
A Simple Way to Shell Sea Crab
Before you begin the process of shelling the sea crab, you’ll need to gather a few tools and ingredients:
Fresh sea crab: Choose crabs that look fresh and lively. If possible, buy live crabs to ensure maximum freshness and ease of shelling.
Sharp knife: This will be used to cut and separate the crab meat from the shell.
Spoon and mallet (optional): These tools can help you extract meat from the narrow crevices and grooves of the shell.
Cold water: Used to rinse the crab meat after shelling to remove any dirt or impurities.
First, rinse the crab under cold water to remove any dirt or debris from the shell. This step also helps to keep the crab meat fresh and reduces the risk of bacterial contamination during handling. Then, follow these simple steps to shell the crab:
A simple guide to shelling sea crab. (Photo: Recipetineats)
Shelling Crab by Hand
The simplest way to shell a crab is to use your hands, and you don’t need a lot of complicated tools.
First, carefully break off each of the crab’s claws, separating them from the body without tearing the meat inside.
Once the claws are removed, use your hands to detach the crab’s shell ( carapace) from the body. This part contains the tastiest meat and is often used the most in dishes. Be very careful not to damage the meat.
Then, use your hands to remove the meat from the body and claws. This method is straightforward, but it requires caution to avoid cutting yourself or tearing the meat.
Shelling Crab with a Knife
For parts of the crab that are more challenging to shell by hand or have a more complex structure, you can use a sharp knife to assist you.
Gently cut along the joints between the claws and the body, and then carefully use the knife to separate the meat from the shell. Remove the meat from the legs and other parts
Shelling Crab with a Spoon and Mallet
If you want to make the shelling process more convenient and efficient, you can use a spoon and mallet.
– Using a spoon to remove the meat: Use a spoon to extract meat from the narrow crevices and grooves of the shell. This method is common when you want to make the most of the meat in hard-to-reach areas.
– Using a mallet to crack the shell: Gently tap the crab’s shell with a mallet to help separate the meat from the shell. This technique is effective when you want to detach the claws and legs from the body.
Once you’ve removed all the meat, rinse it under cold water to remove any remaining dirt or impurities.
Check each piece of shell and meat to ensure that all the meat has been removed and that no shell fragments remain.
The shelled crab meat can now be used immediately in your recipes or packaged and stored for later use.
Keep in mind that crab meat cooks very quickly, so have all your other ingredients ready before you start cooking.
While this method of shelling sea crab is simple, it does require careful handling and a bit of practice to perfect the technique.
According to VTC News
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If your knife is too dull and you don’t have a knife sharpener, grab a cup of water right away
This knife sharpening method will be very useful in case you go camping or when a knife sharpening tool is not available in the kitchen.
