Today we will see how to clean and cook crab, an important process for creating good recipes. Crab requires attention during cooking and cleaning to extract the maximum amount of meat it contains. This recipe is perfect for the Adriatic blue crab, a very common edible crab at this time with delicious meat to prepare many recipes!
Once cooked, you can use the crab in many recipes that see it as an ingredient for many delicious dishes such as:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 10 Minutes
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 2
- Cooking methods: Boiling
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 207.50 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 0.00 (g) of which sugars 0.00 (g)
- Proteins 44.70 (g)
- Fat 1.85 (g) of which saturated 0.50 (g)of which unsaturated 0.97 (g)
- Fibers 0.00 (g)
- Sodium 1,467.50 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 100 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for 2 people:
- 1.1 lbs crabs
- 12.7 cups water
Tools:
- 1 Pot 5-qt
- 1 Knife
- 1 Cutting Board
Preparation
The recipe you are about to see will explain how to clean and cook Crab (Porro, Granseola, or Blue) to use them in various recipes.
We recommend buying live crabs and consuming them very quickly, it’s the only way to be sure that the crab you are about to cook is fresh, its meat tends to spoil quickly after death.
Before starting, here are some tips on how to choose crabs before purchasing. The best crabs are male, to recognize them you just need to turn them over and check the abdominal flap (it looks like a small tail/fin folded on the crab’s stomach) the small and pointed ones are typical of males.
Rinse the crabs under fresh tap water, this simple operation should kill the crustacean without having to cook it alive.
Put plenty of water to boil on high heat, cook the crabs for 5-6 minutes (for crabs weighing 500 g) in simmering water. Turn off the heat and let them cool in the water until they are completely cold.
Smaller crabs cook in 3 minutes, use the color as an indicator, when they turn red, they are done cooking.
Now that you have cooked the crabs, it’s time to clean them and extract the meat. This operation is easier than you might think and works for all types of crab (Blue, Porro, or Granseola).
First, remove the claws: just twist them in the opposite direction to the one they are pointed in, a bit like unscrewing screws.
To extract the meat from the crab, use a knife to separate the upper shell from the lower one.
Inside the crab, you will find the gills and innards that you must remove. The real meat is white and crumbly, the tender and creamy one has the most intense flavor.
You have learned how to clean and cook crab to make many recipes.
Your crab is ready to be used in many other recipes!
Tips for Plating:
Use the shell and head to decorate your pasta dish, if instead, you use the lobster for a risotto you can use the head for decoration.
Wine pairing with crab:
A Vernaccia di San Gimignano reserve of a straw yellow color, the aroma is broad, aristocratic, very varied, and the taste is fragrant, fleshy, and structured to enhance the flavorful crab meat.
