Competition Barbeque Team

HOW TO PICK STEAMED CRABS / CRAB FEAST ETTIQUETTE There are a bunch of theories, methods, techniques and / or styles when it comes to picking crabs. Many come from folks who didn't grow up eating crabs or from the internet. While you can do it that way it's not the "pirate" way. Read on and learn to do it right. Crab Feast Ettiquette Before you begin you need to learn proper crab feast behavior. (By definition any time you are invited to eat steamed crabs it's a crab feast.) When hosting a crab feast you may want to consider a second table and alternate food for any guest who doesn't share our enthusiasm. Crabs that are heavy for thier size are meatier. Crabs are served by dumping them in the middle of the table. It is OK to "heft" a few crabs before picking one from the pile but once you set it down in front of you it's yours. If you are over six you can pick your own crabs. If you are a dainty young lady it may be cute to have your date pick the crabs for you. After the first one do it yourself or go the the hambuger table. (All good crab feasts have an alternate food for the crab impaired.) If you are one of the crab semi-impaired (i.e. only want the claws because they are easier) you cannot pull the claws off and throw the rest of the crab back on the pile. Either get someone to give you their claws, eat the whole crab or go sit at the hamburger table. If you do not understand the crab eating culture or don't want to learn to eat them properly do not tell the world you are an idiot by proclaiming that crabs are a waste of time. If you are invited to a crab feast politly decline - you are no fun to be around. Crabs are messy. If you are hosting a crab feast try to do it outside. If you are a guest try to keep everything on the table. If things get messy no one should freak out. You could have served hamburgers. To eat a crab you first steam it live and then tear it apart with your bare hands to eat it's flesh. If you must constantly utter "ewww" or "gross" go sit at the hamburger table. Crabs are served with small bowls of vinegar for dipping. Some people like to let their meat soak in the vinager. If everyone has their own bowl this is fine but if the bowls are shared don'tbe offended if someone grabs your meat. How To Pick Crabs Determining Your Crab's Sex The apron of the male crab or "Jimmy" looks like the Washington Monument. The apron on a female crab looks like the U.S. Capitol. Gather Your Tools All you need is your hands, a crab claw & a small mallet. What you do not need are knives and a fork. Remove the legs Professional crab pickers usually leave the legs for last especially the "swimmers" because you sometimes pull out chunks of meat when you pull the legs off. If you are eating the crabs I think that's a bonus! To remove the legs grab them close to where they meet the body and gently pull and twist to remove. If you get some meat eat it using the leg as a handle. Either way put the leg in your mouth and suck out the juicies. Remove The Apron Use the claw to pry open the apron. Put your thumb under the apron and pull it off including all the stuff under there. (That would be your crab's assorted reproductive assessories.) Pop The Top Turn the crab over and hold the crab in both hands. Pry the top shell off to expose the innereds. Set the top shell aside - you will need it later. Tackle The Gills The greyish spongey thingies on either side of shells are the "devil's fingers" or gills. Just pluck them off and throw them on the trash pile. Tear Off The Mouth You can do this now or after you shake out the guts. I prefer to do it now. Place you thumb over the mouth from the inside. Tear away all mouth apperatice. After the first pull rip off any that are left dangling. Dump The Guts The crabs guts are in the center between the two shell encased clusters of meat. You can usually dump them all out by holding it up side down and shaking or by tapping it on the table. If anything sticks just pluck it out with your fingers. You will see some yellowish liquid goo in here. This is the mustard. Scoop it all out and put it in the top shell you saved. Break It Down Now you should have just the meat stuffed shells as pictured. Fold the crab in half to crack the body into two parts. As you do this you may be treated to more loose meat! Crack The Case You now have two crab clusters and you are almost there. Set one aside for now. Each cluster is divided into several sections divided by thin sections of shell. Hold the section in both hands like a sandwich. Squeeze the shells to break these dividing walls. Expose Your Meat Hold the cluster in your hands with your thumbs on top. Push in with your thumbs and gently pry apart the cluster to expose the meat inside. Pick The Crab Pull out the treasure from the individual cavities Repete Repeat with other side The Claws Crack, do not crush, claws Go For The Gold If you are still wondering why you set a side that top shell with all the mustard in it you haven't been around enough real crab people. Pour a little beer (or ginger ale for the younger set) into crab shell, dip your finger in and stir in the mustard and drink from the shell! Mustard Uncovered The delisous yellow mustard in your crab is not fat, crab blood or digestive waste. It is the hepatopancreas - the crab's version of the liver and pancreas. As a word of caution, just like our liver this works as a filter. In questionable waters PCBs may concentrate here. (That's a bad thing.) You shouldn't eat crabs from questionable waters anyway but if you do you will want to forgo the mustard.