How to cook crab
The methods used when cooking crab depend on what type of crab you are cooking. Cooking crab legs is a simple process of reheating, while cooking live or whole crabs takes a bit more effort.
Harvesters cook crab legs and immediately flash freeze them when they are caught. They are generally sold frozen or thawed. If you need to thaw your crab legs put them in the refrigerator at 37 degrees F or below. You can also run them under cold water until you can bend their joints. Thawed Alaskan crab legs should be eaten within 24 hours of being thawed. There are several ways to reheat them including broiling, boiling, steaming and baking. Whatever method you choose it will only take 4-8 minutes until your crab legs are ready to eat. For further information on how to cook crab legs please refer to our in-depth article on crab legs.
Live whole crabs are generally boiled in salt water. First pour enough water into a large pot to completely submerge the crabs in about 5 inches of water. Then add 1/2 cup of salt per gallon of water and bring it to a boil. Next, place the crabs head first into the boiling water and cover the pot. (To be more humane some people like to place crabs in the freezer for 30 minutes or stroke the back of its head until it falls asleep before cooking it) Cooking times vary from 10 - 20 minutes depending on the size of the crabs. A 2 pound crab should be cooked for 15-20 minutes while a 1 pound crab should be cooked for about 10 - 15 minutes.
When the crab is finished cooking it should be taken out and run under cold water for about 1 minute to stop the cooking process. If you like your crab cold you should then place it in a pot of icy cold water for a few minutes. However if you prefer to serve it warm, you should put on some rubber gloves and immediately start the cleaning process.
The first step of the cleaning process is to twist off the legs. Next you will want to remove the shell. This is done by holding the bottom of the crab with 1 hand while pulling the shell off with the other. Then pull off the triangular bottom section and remove the gills, intestine, stomach and mouth.
Now that you have your crab cleaned, give it a good rinse under cold water and crack it in half. Dig out the brown meat anyway you can and crack the legs to get to the succulent white meat.
While the traditional way of eating crab meat is with butter and a pinch of garlic/lemon slices there are also several delicious crab recipes available. This article is accompanied by a crab cake recipe and a crab dip recipe so be sure to check those out. Also, when you buy crab online it will come with a cookbook and preparation guide.
Some people like their crab baked and if you happen to have a crab steamer you can steam crab as well. I will be posting more cooking methods over time so be sure to bookmark this how to cook crab resource page. If you are looking for information on crab specific crab varieties you can find it here as well. Enjoy your crab!
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