How to clean and handle crabs

The key steps in crab cleaning and processing include scrubbing the shell, removing internal organs, trimming gills, and pre-treatment before steaming. When handling, attention should be paid to avoiding being pinched by crab claws and ensuring thorough removal of sediment and harmful substances.

1. Brush the shell

Soak the live crab in clean water for 10 minutes, and after it spits out some sediment, carefully brush the crab shell, crab leg joints, and abdominal cover gaps with a hard bristled brush.

2. Remove the internal organs

Open the triangular cover of the crab belly, cut along the edge with scissors, and squeeze out the black intestinal cord. The crab stomach is located at the front end of the head and chest armor, and a pouch like stomach bag needs to be picked out from the mouth with chopsticks.

3. Trim the gills

After breaking open the crab shell, use scissors to cut off the gray white strip-shaped gill leaves along the edges. The gills are prone to hiding parasites and heavy metals, and need to be completely removed.

4. Pre cooking

After processing, it is recommended to marinate the crabs with cooking wine and ginger slices for 10 minutes to remove fishy smell. When steaming, place the crabs with their abdomen facing upwards to prevent the loss of crab roe.

5. Safety protection

Wear thick gloves to fix the crab claws during operation, and use kitchen scissors instead of tearing by hand. Dead crabs are not edible and must be kept fresh before processing.

Crabs are cold in nature, and can be paired with ginger vinegar juice to neutralize the coldness when consumed. People with weak gastrointestinal function should control their consumption. Fresh crabs should be freshly killed and cooked, and stored in refrigeration for no more than 24 hours. Frozen storage requires sealed packaging. The processing tools need to be disinfected with boiling water to avoid cross contamination. If there is a strange smell or loose meat in the crab shell, it should be immediately stopped from consumption.