Island Life June July 2015 June July 2015 | Page 84

Coming out

shell

of your

• Lay the cooked crab on its back and twist off
the claws and legs. Crack the claws and legs
using a heavy object - but don’t allow the shell
to shatter into very small pieces as it will be
difficult to find. Carefully remove the meat
using a lobster pick or teaspoon and put it
into a bowl (preferably metal). Check for stray
shell by shaking the bowl from time to time
– shell fragments ‘ping’ against the side and
can be removed. Put your thumbs on the base
of the body, at the back of the crab, and push
upwards to release it from the carapace.

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• Pull away and discard the lungs (‘dead man’s
fingers’) found around the main body and
inside of the carapace. Press the mouth so
that it snaps away from the main shell and pull
away the stomach sac. Cut the body in half
and scoop out further white meat – it is worth
taking time over this as there is a surprising
amount in all the small cavities.
• Scoop out the brown meat from the carapace
– the quantity and quality of this will depend
on the time of year. If the crab has had its
shell for some time, the brown meat will
be plentiful. Some people like brown meat
straight from the shell, others add seasoning,
a little mustard and breadcrumbs, too. White
meat is great just as it is.