How to Cook Crab

Boil Crab

As the most common and the favorite way to cook crabs, almost all varieties of crabs can be cooked by boiling them. Boil water in a large pot and add a lot of salt, so the water tastes like sea water. You can add seasonings like beer or white wine as well. Finally, add the crabs and bring the water to boil once again. The crabs should float within 10-15 minutes which will depend on their size. Remove the crabs using tongs and cool them enough in order to handle with bare hands.

Steam Crab

This method helps you to retain their juices and also prevents them from getting water-logged as they might become in the boiling water technique. Boil an inch of salt water in a large pot and place the crabs in the steamer basket. Depending on the size of the crabs, the steaming should take 10-20 minutes. You can let them cool down on their own or run them under cool water. They should be sufficiently cooled before handling them with hands and serving them.

Grill Crab

Grilled crabs have a lovely taste, but you have to clean the crabs before you grill them. Heat up the grill, brush the crab with melted butter and place them on the grill. Keep the grill covered and cook till the crabs are browned lightly. Flip over the crabs and cook on the other side, brushing liberally with butter. The total cooking time should be around 10 minutes. Remove from the grill with tongs and serve hot or warm. You can choose sauce to your favor to serve with the crabs.

Roast Crab

When roasting a crab, you will have to clean it first like grilling crabs. To clean the crabs, you might boil them or steam them depending on your preference. It doesn’t seem very appealing to clean a live crab. Once you have the cleaned crabs, place them in a roasting pan. You can add melted butter, herbs, spices, shallots, ginger and garlic which will be added according to the flavors you like. Cook the crabs in an oven at 500 degrees F for 10 minutes or till they are brown and sizzling.

You can find an interesting crab recipe by looking at the video below: 

Once you have your crabs, boil or steam them.

Remove and cool them, rinse under water if required.

Remove the apron or small triangular part at the bottom of the crab by pulling.

A small hole will be formed, separate the top shell by pulling it apart. Collect the liquid (crab butter) if you like.

Remove the feathery gills and mandible and then discard. You can remove the guts by rinsing.

Smaller crabs can be served whole while larger crabs can be cut into half by using a knife.