How to Clean Crab

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: February 21, 2023

If you want to eat crab meat, you need to clean your crab first. If your crab is live, you will need to boil it to kill it. You will also need to remove the shell and guts as part of the cleaning process. Once your crab is clean, you can cook and enjoy it.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Readying the Crab for Cleaning

1
Kill the crab first, if necessary. If you purchased a live crab, it is necessary to kill it before cooking it. The simplest way to kill a live crab is to immerse the crab in boiling water for 60 seconds. Then, use tongs to remove the crab from the water and place it in an ice bath to cool.^{[1]
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2
Thaw a frozen crab. If you are using frozen crab, thaw it out before cleaning it. Fill a sink with cool water and immerse the crab in the sink. After about 15 to 20 minutes, it should be thawed enough to clean.

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3
Allow the crab to cool and dry. If you boiled your crab, let it become cool to the touch before cleaning it. You should also let it dry off first, as handling a wet crab can be difficult. If you thawed your crab in water, let it dry before cleaning it.^{[2]
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Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Removing Unwanted Parts

1
Cut the face off the crab. Take a pair of scissors from your kitchen and use this to cut the face off the crab. The face includes the crab's eyes and mouth. Cut a straight line across the front of the crab, just behind the eyes and mouth, to remove the face.^{[3]
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- It is generally easier to use scissors to remove the face. However, not all scissors will be sharp enough. If your scissors fail to cut through the crab, use a sharp knife instead to make the cut.
2
Remove the abdomen. The abdomen of the crab is the small flap of shell on the underside of the crab. You do not need any special tools to remove the abdomen. Pull it off with your fingers.
3
Remove the gills. You will see the gills underneath the abdomen. They resemble small, beige tongues. To remove the gills, grab them with your fingers and pull them off.^{[4]
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Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Completing the Cleaning Process

1
Rinse out the guts. Once unwanted materials are removed from the crab, it can be cleaned using water. Hold the crab under running tap water to rinse out the guts. These are the greenish brown substances found inside the crab. Keep rinsing the crab until the guts are completely removed.
2
Break the crab open to get the meat. Now, you can get to the meat of the crab. This can be cooked after it is extracted. Turn the crab upside down. Hold it with both sides and place both thumbs underneath the crab, near the midline of the crab's back. As you push with your thumbs, pull down with your hands. The crab will crack open.
- You should be left with two even sections of crab meat.
3
Cook your crab. Crab sections can be cooked in boiling water. Cook them for 12 minutes. Use a light amount of salt to flavor the crab.
- If you want, you can serve your crab with melted butter.
4
Finished!

References

Community Q&A

Question

How do you cook the legs?

李一岙

Community Answer

First, boil the water, put the legs in, then boil for 15 minutes. Take them out and soak them in cold water for 10 minutes. Then, cut the legs into thin pieces. Wrap them with bread bran and flour, heat the oil at a low temperature, fry the crab pieces in the wok until golden yellow. Remove from the heat and finish with a sprinkle of cumin.