Expertly Dressing a Crab.

The UK is renowned for its love of dressed crab, and for good reason. The succulent and flavorful meat, seasoned with salt, pepper and lemon makes for an exquisite seafood delight.

But how does one go about dressing a crab? Fear not, as we have all the instructions you need. We will also provide some valuable advice on where to purchase and how to select a cooked crab.

Our guide will cover breaking the crab open, extracting the white and brown meat, and presenting it back in the cleaned shell. Simply use the link below to jump to the information you require.

Jump to: "Our short video presents an exceptional dressed crab dish that will captivate your taste buds!"

The dressed crab recipe card we offer has a straightforward guide complete with pictures.

History

Dressed crab has a rich history that can be traced back to England in 1792. The dish was featured in Richard Briggs' book, "The New Art of Cookery According to Present Practice," published in America.

Today, dressed crab can be found in seafood restaurants or fish markets, although it is also relatively simple to prepare at home using cooked crab from a supermarket or fishmonger.

Where to Buy and Choosing a Cooked Crab

When you purchase a cooked crab, ensure that it has a mild, ocean-like aroma and is heavy for its size. Steer clear of any crab that smells exceedingly fishy or has a discolored shell or missing limbs.

Ask your seafood merchant for suggestions on how to pick out a good crab. While some supermarkets and fish markets sell pre-dressed crabs for convenience, we strongly recommend purchasing a whole cooked crab and dressing it yourself for the best flavor.

If you purchased frozen crab, ensure that it is entirely thawed before use. The best way to thaw it is to cover it in the refrigerator overnight.

What Type of Crab to Use?

In the UK, the brown crab is the most prevalent crab used for dressed crab, but other varieties are available as well, such as the spider crab.

Male or Female?

Male crabs are typically selected for dressed crab as they have more white meat than female crabs. However, female crabs may carry roe (eggs) that are delicious.

Distinguishing between male and female crabs is simple; merely turn the crab over, exposing the sternum, and examine the shape of the abdomen. Wide and round abdomens indicate a female crab, while long, narrow abdomen flaps indicate a male crab. We used a male crab for this blog post, as indicated by its long, thin abdomen.

This article does not cover how to cook a crab. If your crab is fresh, make sure to cook it first. We have a crab tool set available that can be beneficial in this respect.

Click here to view the crab tool set on Amazon.

Dressing a Crab in a Creative Way

Dressing a crab is a delightful process that involves the extraction of crab meat from the shell, claws, legs and body. This procedure is not complicated but can be a little messy and fiddly, a rewarding experience for those who love culinary adventures.

Begin with rinsing your cooked crab under cold running water and then detach the legs and claws.

Removing the Crab Legs and Claws

To get the legs off, grasp the legs' base and give them a slight twist and pull them away from the crab. The same goes for the claws too.

If the socket does not come out easily, the end of a teaspoon or a pick can be utilized to grasp under and remove the socket.

To detach the crab shell from the body, start by taking out the abdomen (the flap situated under the crab).

Put your fingers on the shell's underside and use your thumbs to elevate the body from the crab shell. The body should split easily.

Crab's Inedible Segments

Although not inedible, these segments are best removed since they don't improve the taste quality of the dressed crab. The segments are the greyish gills (also called lungs or "dead man's fingers") and the stomach sac, and they surround the body, as seen in the image above.

The mouth can be pushed down to remove it too.

Brown Meat for an Extra Flavor

There is brown meat, with a rich and sweet flavor, in both the shell and body.

Gather it in a bowl by scraping any brown meat from around the body. Cut the crab's body in half to facilitate finding the meat.

The nooks and crannies' meat inside the body can be extracted with a teaspoon or pick. This may surprise you with the amount of crab meat available.

Separate the brown and white crab meat into two different bowls whilst deconstructing the crab. Take care to handle each piece individually.

Begin with the white meat. The body contains a small amount, but the majority can be found in the claws and legs. The meat is delicate and has a milder flavor than the brown meat.

To extract the white crab meat from the claws, crack them open at the knuckle and pull the meat out. Use a pick or skewer if necessary to help remove it and ensure all cartilage and shell is fully removed. Set aside the final joint, as this does not contain any meat and can be used for decoration.

Crab claws contain the most substantial amount of meat, and it is incredibly easy to extract. Use the back of a knife to crack the claw open, and the meat should pull out effortlessly. Break open the next joint and continue to extract the meat with a pick or teaspoon. Remember, there may be hard white cartilage included with the white meat that must also be removed.

The cooked whole brown crab's meat quantity will typically be around 200 grams, depending on the size of the crab.

Once both white and brown crab meat are separated, seasoning can begin. I recommend keeping it straightforward with a mix of salt, black pepper, and lemon juice. However, feel free to incorporate additional herbs and spices or mix in some mayonnaise if preferred.

Whilst seasoning, maintain the crab meat's freshness by keeping the two bowls refrigerated as you proceed to prepare the crab shell for dressing.

Begin cleaning the crab shell by rinsing it through cold water and breaking any unnecessary shell off to increase the space available for stuffing it with the dressed crab meat mixture. Note the line surrounding the edge of the shell and use a large spoon to push upwards from within the shell, cracking it off to increase space. Remove any leftover shell and discard it accordingly.

Creative Dressing of a Crab Shell

When it comes to dressing a crab, I prefer to spread the brown meat along the outer edges of the shell and place the white meat in the center. However, if you fancy doing it the opposite way, that's perfectly fine too. To complete this beautifully dressed crab, be sure to include the saved lower leg joints. Once finished, wrap it up in cling film and store it in the refrigerator until it's time to serve.

Delightful Serving Suggestions

Enjoy this beautifully dressed crab with accompanying seafood items as part of a grand Seafood Platter, garnished with fresh lemon slices. You could also serve it with a salad and an assortment of our signature dips, including our delectable seafood boil dip or rich marie rose sauce. Nothing beats treating your taste buds to this elegant starter or lunch, perfectly accompanied by a slice of buttered brown bread or toast. For an extra kick, try sprinkling a drizzle of our fiery chilli vinegar.

📖 Step by Step Recipe

If you're a seafood lover, then you'll absolutely love this dish. Our Flawless Food experts, Luke and Kay, are well-versed in the art of seafood culinary perfection. We bring you this step-by-step recipe to dress a crab that's sure to tantalize your taste buds. From breaking open the shell to extracting the sumptuous white and brown meat, we've got you covered. Our blog post also contains some helpful tips on where to find and select the best-cooked crab.

Give your feedback by rating this recipe, or print it out for future use or share it on Pinterest. You can also save it using the Grow.Me application. This recipe is for dressing a whole cooked crab, which is a popular dish in the UK because of its succulent and flavourful meat. In this recipe, we will teach you how to extract the white and brown meat and present it back in the cleaned shell, seasoned with salt, pepper, and lemon, garnished with dill and mayonnaise. On our blog post, we provide tips on where to buy and how to choose a cooked crab.

Before starting, rinse the crab in cold water and remove the legs and claws. Pull back to remove the abdomen from the body. Use your thumbs to detach the body from the shell and remove the gills and stomach sack. Scrape out the brown meat and the white meat and season it to your taste.

Using a spoon, remove the outer shell and push the brown meat into either side of the shell. Add the flakes of white meat in the middle and finish with the lower leg joints and some dill. Keep it chilled until serving and consume it as soon as possible. This dressed crab goes well with a seafood platter.

Store the dressed crab in the fridge for up to a day. Please mention @flawlessfooduk or tag #flawlessfooduk if you share your creation on Instagram.

Should you choose a freshly cooked crab to work with, you may opt to dress and preserve it for a period of up to 2 months, provided it is stored frozen and defrosted over the course of a single night. It is not advisable to repeat the process of freezing a crab that has previously been frozen."

We would love to hear about your experience of crafting a dressed crab, so don't hesitate to share your thoughts and feedback in the comments section.