How to Clean a Crab (and other unsavory things that become savory with work)

Hello, everybody! The Fresh Pioneer is back and I mentioned last week that it's crab season on our coast. We're not near the coast at all (about 7-9 hours, depending on the route you take, highway or back road). So we don't usually eat seafood because by the time it makes it here to the other side of the state, it's not really as fresh as I'd like it to be. And you know I'm all about fresh food! (Oregon is 98,000 square miles and ranked 9th largest.... way behind TEXAS, of course!) 

 So, these babies started showing up in our grocery store by the mountain. Glorious, cheap, crabs! And although the seafood assistant will crack and clean them for you, my twelve year old boy loves that job. (Ah, twelve year old boys are the best for the dirty jobs. They look forward to them!) Another reason we keep our crab cleaning skills up is for our yearly beach visit. Seafood is cheap there but it's usually sold in the outdoor market. They don't hold your hand as you pick out your dinner, and they don't clean it for you. We've bought tuna, etc right off boats in the harbor. We also have a year's fishing license, and then when the tide is low we pull mussels off the rocks, dig for clams, or hang a crab trap off the pier. I know you can just buy it in a restaurant and that's absolutely a fine way to proceed. BUT if you lay awake at night wondering if your family would survive the zombie apocalypse, or like to prepare your own food from scratch, keep reading!
                                            
So, let's begin! When crabbing, make sure to follow the local rules and regulations. That usually includes size and sex (nothing under a certain size, and no females). This is a male and you can tell by the shape of the "apron". Males usually have a shape somewhat like the Washington Monument. And females are shaped like the US Capital dome. (Baby females have a sort of triangle, and are probably too small to keep.)

 Using a knife, pop open the apron and pull down.
                                                 
Flipping the crab over, grip both sides of the carapace and remove the top.
                                              
Inside you can see the gills, the innards, etc. Some people save the top and serve the crab dish inside. If you want to do this you'll need to scrub it really well with soap, and then leave it in the sun to dry, preferably for several days. We just toss ours. :)
                                              
Inside the middle is a yellow gunk called "crab butter'. This is like the crab's liver and filters the toxin from the system. Some people carefully collect this and use it in soup or the crab dish because it's a very strong flavoring, like anchovy paste (but not as salty). I've had dishes made with crab butter and although it's good, I don't feel comfortable eating something that filters toxins so... I discard this. Of course, I don't eat liver, either, which plenty of people feel is perfectly okay. It's really up to you whether you feel it's safe to eat/cook with.
                                
Another shot of the gills, crab butter, mandibles. All this should be removed.

 At this point, you can easily crack the crab in half. Take each half and rinse under warm water.

 You can either serve it like this, half a crab for everybody, or you can continue cracking the legs/pincer, remove the meat and use in a recipe.
I hope you've enjoyed my crab cleaning tutorial! Next week, we'll skin a squirrel! Just kidding... although my 1950's Joy of Cooking does have a page on that. I think I've shared it before.
And now, for unsavory things that become savory... A lot of revisions went into this book but sometimes you just have to make the hard cuts to craft a better story! Some days I felt revising this book was like cleaning crab butter. Ugh! But I'm absolutely thrilled with the way this story turned out and I'm giddy with anticipation for release day!

But finally, my fifth book in the Cane River Romance series is up for preorder and at a special .99 until release day! If you've already picked up Book One, which is FREE, then there is Book Two, Book Three, and Book Four!

Ok, until next time, everyone! Have a great weekend and I hope spring is finally starting to pop where you are!