Geez Parker I wouldn't eat any crab caught off the Seattle waterfront...cleaned or not !
Of course over here on Hood Canal we don't have that worry...sorry guys but I like the taste of funky yellow crab butter infused crab meat. But to each their own barbarous preferences.

Sure goose, nothing to worry about.

That aside, that whole crab butter thing is queebin' me out!

Berkeley and Parker are right on about this one...

I also use the "hold the legs/pinchers and whack 'em on the edge of a board" technique. Pop off the shell, shake off the guts, pull off the gills, and give them a good rinse in cold water. Do this within minutes of when you're going to cook them, and do your darndest to keep them lively until then.

Next, 7-9 minutes in water that is really boiling hard, preferably sea water, with a good dose of pickling spices dumped in.

Besides tasting better and removing most possible toxins, they cook a lot faster. The water tends to lose its boil pretty quick if you toss in a whole crab. You can also cook two or three crabs at a time, rather than one.

A quick reminder...if you do this in the field, keep the carapaces and abdomens on hand until you leave so you can prove the size/sex of your catch to the gamies. And don't forget to mark your punchcard for dungeness!

Also, my last couple of times out I've found that my usual supply of hatchery steelhead/silver carcasses is still working well, but that a small can of salmon flavored cat food with a dozen holes knocked in it along with the fish carcasses has really been the ticket. I think the super oiliness of the cat food gets 'em in, and then the presence of the salmon keeps 'em there.

Fish on...

Todd.

Another vote for cleaning first.

Grab all legs and claws in each hand,use a table corner,water spigot any such object,place the shell right above the eyes press in and down hard and fast.

Clean and boil in seawater or freshwater and rocksalt,dip in garlic butter and lemon juice,must be what heavens like.

Bunch of crab cleaning Phillistines! :p Oops did I say that?
Sorry guys...I'll go back to eating my whole cooked tainted crab in secret.

good tips. I have done it both ways. I did learn a little trick last year on our beach trip from a guy who crabs everyday.

After cleaning the crab (before cooking), he takes a small knife and sticks it into each joint in the crab. This allows your spicy water to enter all parts of the crab. It takes a few extra minutes but it is worth it.

Give it a try.

Giz...

So now tell the truth --- do you leg and claw grabbin dudes still have all of your fingers and thumbs intact?? Are your hands large enough to "palm" beach balls?? Does this technique require "liquid" fortification prior to 'crunch time'??

Sounds like a great method if you're not chicken-------cockle doodle doo!!!!!!!!

Boy, this just goes to show ya that it takes all kind to make the world go round....... Interesting posts. I have tried it both ways and found the crab that was cleaned before cooking to be bland in flavor. I went back to cooking whole and feel it is a far tastier product. But some guys fish with spinning reels too...........

Hey Parker,
do all you guys with fisheries degrees spell it crabes?

Hey Fishbait do you ever see those guys who fish with their spinning reel upwards? Kinda of reminds me of cleaning crab before cooking :p :p :p :p :p :p :p :p

Crab butter........Yum.....

All I can say is, it must have been a HUNGRY person, that first person that ate a crab, shrimp, or lobster.

A couple of years ago, as a hobby, I had a large chilled saltwater aquarium, and I stocked the whole thing with stuff only from Puget Sound. Once you watch what crabs and shrimp do day after day, you sort of lose your appetite for them... believe me.

Put some cooked, cleaned, cracked crabmeat in front of me, though, and I still can't resist it.
I've yet to explore the taste differences between cooking pre and post cleaning, I've always just cleaned them before cooking, because, like others have said, you can fit way more crabs in the cook pot. That smelly foam is sort of disgusting, too, but hell, so is lots of other stuff we eat all the time.

-N.

That spelling was from a Red Meat Cartoon:

Early was quoted as saying, "Oh no, crabes."

Of course, he was referring to the crab-like critters that he managed to pick up after sleeping with some street wh@re.

www.readmeat.com

PS. Rooster cooked up a damn tasty batch of crabes at his BBQ. Used some fancy cajun seasonings, or something. Was really darn good!

was talking to a guy the other day and suggested adding a packet of taco seasoning to the water, kinda of came to mind when parker mentioned cajun

Moving this to this thread because it is such a tasty treat.
For a splurge: Well worth it and very impressive!
Phillips canned crab at Costco which is vaccum
packed and kept refrigerated. (in their cold meat section) But if you are lucky enough to have caught your own Dungeness crab, use it, too.
This has to be either fresh or vaccum packed crab, not the small cans you get in the markets.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1.Take a whole loaf of French bread.
2.Cut it in half lengthwise..top and bottom half.
Put each piece on aluminum foil that can be
closed.
3.Take one can of crab which is about one pound
and mix it with a dab of mayonaise (about 3-4 T)
so that it sticks together.
4.Butter the bread.
5.Sprinkle with garlic powder.
6.Spread Cheezewhiz (yes that's right..cheeze
whiz)on top of both pieces.
7.Sprinkle with parsely and paprika for Christmas
greenery.
8.Close the foil and bake in hot over at
375 or 400 degrees til hot all the way through.

Slice loaf into pieces.

Our family tradition for a great treat on Christmas Eve with clam chowder and more fresh crab.

I was wonderin' how to clean them and keep my fingers intact, and I was shown a trick, lay them on their back and whack them in the center with something like a large screwdriver handle. Stuns them good, legs all relax, and you can pop the top shell off and clean/rinse them out painlessly.

On little sneaky cat feet, I hear PETA comin'.