How To Use A Crab Cracker

The first person to look at a crab and smack his lips must have been a little desperate to eat

. Crabs and lobsters present a fearsome challenge with their tough shells, but that first connoisseur of shellfish must have suspected that underneath a tough exterior lay a sweet, tender, and oh, so delicious morsel of the best meat to ever delight the human tongue. It just takes some patience and elbow grease to get it.

Going out for fresh caught crab and crab legs means you have some time to spend on your meal. Picking meat out of tiny places is both messy and intense work, and knowing how to get every last scrap of flaky goodness from the shell means you need to know how to use a crab cracker.

First of all, don't bother to extract meat out of crab legs if they aren't especially large. Blue crabs and Dungeness crabs are great for crab leg feasts, but you could spend hours working furiously over smaller crabs, only to be rewarded with the tiniest of bits.

If you have legs of sufficient size, start by pulling off the lower part of the claw. If the meat comes off with the claw, pinch the meat at the base and gently pull it away from the attaching cartilage. Next, gently tug the meat that is sticking out of the leg shells. You can crack the joints backward to help you get at the rest of the meat in the legs, but having a crab fork handy for this operation comes in handy. Crab forks are long, skinny utensils used to gently skewer and pull the slender morsels of meat from the shell. They come in different varieties and with different working prongs, but they are all designed to help you get every last bit.

When you have finished with the legs, it's time to work on the part with the most flavorful meat: the hard-shelled claws and knuckle. This is where you will need a crab cracker to break open the very tough shell. Squeeze the cracker firmly enough to crack the shell but not so strongly that you mash the shell and the inner meat into bits. Keep a glass of some deliciously chilled beverage next to you so that your patience is frequently rewarded. When you have successfully cracked the shell and not mushed the meat, pick out the shell remnants and pull out the meat. Dip in butter and eat. Smack lips.

Shellfish caught moments before they land on your plate is an exceptional meal, but the sea doesn't give up its bounty without requiring something in return. Master the art of using a crab cracker, and you have opened a door to a gastronomically better world.

by: Art Gib

POST COMMENT

Vegan Survival - What To Do When You Don't Find Anything To Eat What is Melatrol? Should you take it? Fly with the Eagles! Part 2 Tax Cut Deal Magnavox H2160MW9 Unaccompanied Luggage: Giving You a Risk Free Shipment Hoarding Help in Ohio Challenge Coins: Keeping Memories Alive Enuresis Alarm Success Rates Is Riding A Complete Skateboard That Dangerous? Mapuche Hal Gill Prepare To Be Unprepared!