How to Eat Crab Properly

The other day, my love and I were out for drinks enjoying a rare sunny afternoon. Through conversation, it occured to us that the coming weekend would commemorate our three year anniversary. We decided to spring for something special as a celebration and made our way to the marina for a seafood extravaganza. We dined on shrimp cocktails, oysters, and a main course of crab.

Though we both thoroughly enjoyed our meals, I couldn't help but notice all the crab meat that had been lost due to my poor execution. If I knew the proper way to eat a whole crab, perhaps the mallet wouldn't have slipped out of my buttery hands and flown across the table. Plus, I really dislike the feeling of not knowing what the heck I'm doing.

With a little research, here is what I have learned:

• Pop all legs and claws off at the knuckle. Set aside.
• Flip crab so that the hard shell is facing down (put it on its back).
• With thumbs in place on both ends, separate shell from body.
• Remove guts and goo from center of the body.
• Using your knife (and not a mallet, as this crushes the meat and shell) gently separate the body from underlying "soft" shell. This should expose all the meat, finally allowing easy access to your dinner.
• When eating legs, it's best to open at the joints, using a knife to gently separate.

For a full tutorial I found this video. I love how serious our young narrator is with producing a You Tube "How To" video while his friends play in the background.



The other element I love about a shellfish dinner, are the accessories one is provided for proper eating. There are not many times past the age of 3 where it is appropriate to wear a bib while dining and wipe your hands on a towelette before leaving the table.