What Part of the Crab Do You Eat? A Guide to Enjoying Every Delicious Bite

Crab is a delicious crustacean that many seafood lovers eagerly anticipate during crab season. However, for first-timers facing a cooked crab, it can be intimidating to figure out how to access the sweet, tender meat inside This comprehensive guide will walk you through identifying, cracking, and savoring every edible part of the crab.

Choosing High-Quality Crab

Start with fresh, high-quality crab for the best flavor and easiest cracking Here’s what to look for when buying whole crab, legs, or claws

• Whole crab should have an intact, clean shell and feel heavy for its size. Light crab will have less meat.

• Cooked whole crab should smell pleasant, not fishy. Chilled, not warm.

• Frozen legs and claws should have tightly sealed, intact limbs with no freezer burn or frost.

• Live crab should be active, with all limbs present. Not lethargic.

Must-Have Tools for Cracking

Having the right tools makes getting to the meat much easier:

• Crab mallet or hammer – Essential for breaking shells. A meat tenderizer works well.

• Cracking utensils – Crab crackers, pliers or nut crackers help break claws and legs.

• Seafood fork – The two-pronged fork helps pull meat from tight spaces.

• Small knife or kitchen shears – Useful for cutting crab shells or sections.

• Crackers or bread – Have some on hand for dipping into crab juice or butter.

Cracking and Eating the Legs

A crab’s legs contain plentiful delicious meat. Follow these steps:

• Use a mallet to lightly crack the leg shell near the joints.

• Twist and break open the cracked shell. Remove any membrane covering the meat.

• Use a fork or fingers to pull out leg meat in whole pieces when possible.

• For narrow spaces, use a fork to retrieve any remaining meat.

• Dip the leg meat in butter or broth for added flavor.

• Save the thigh joint, where the leg connects to the body, for last – it has the most meat.

Freeing the Meat from the Claws

A crab’s claws contain the sweetest, largest chunks of meat. Here’s how to extract it:

• Use a mallet or cracker to break the claw shell where it meets the body.

• Twist and separate the cracked shell. Discard any membrane.

• For large claws, cut through the shell with shears to fully expose the meat.

• Use a fork or fingers to pull out the chunky claw meat in whole pieces when possible.

• Use a narrow fork to retrieve any remaining meat from crevices.

Accessing the Prized Body Meat

Don’t miss the delicious meat inside the main body cavity:

• Flip the crab upside down and use a mallet to crack the body shell near the bottom. Knock off most of the top shell.

• Pull back the remaining top shell and discard the feathery gills underneath.

• Rinse out any visceral matter from the cavity.

• Use fingers or a fork to pull out the large, succulent pieces of body meat.

• Cut the body into sections if needed to access all the meat.

Parts of the Crab to Avoid

While most of the crab is edible, there are a few parts to avoid:

• The gills or “dead man’s fingers” – Discard these feathery filters found under the top shell.

• Intestines and visceral matter – Scoop out the crab’s innards from the body cavity before eating.

• Mouth parts – Many remove the mouth which is found under the eyes.

• Cartilage – The thin, white cartilage throughout the meat should be avoided.

Delicious Ways to Prepare Crab Meat

Once extracted from the shell, crab meat is incredibly versatile:

• Chilled crab with lemon or mango salsa makes simple, elegant dipping.

• Place lump crab meat atop toasted baguette slices for an appetizer.

• Mix crab meat with avocado chunks for a refreshing salad.

• Sauté crab with garlic butter, white wine, parsley and lemon.

• Bake crab-stuffed mushrooms or mini peppers.

• Stuff crab meat into tomatoes or avocado halves for a starter.

• Fold crab into pasta with herbs, garlic and olive oil.

The sweet, briny taste of crab meat is worth the effort to unlock it from the shell. Now armed with tips on identifying, cracking and savoring every edible morsel, you can confidently enjoy this treasured seafood.

The main part of a crab that is not eaten is the gills, also known as “devil’s fingers” or “dead man’s fingers”. These feathery, cone-shaped structures are located along the sides of the crab’s body and are considered inedible due to their unpleasant texture and lack of flavor.