Outfitting a Crab Like a Boss
Dressed crab is a popular dish in the United Kingdom, and it's easy to see why. When dressed and seasoned with salt, pepper, and lemon, crab meat becomes succulent and flavorful. It's a delectable seafood treat.
We'll show you how to dress a crab. We'll also give you some pointers on where to buy and how to select a cooked crab.
Instructions for breaking it open and extracting the white and brown meat, followed by instructions for reintroducing it into the cleaned shell.
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The dressed crab recipe card includes an easy-to-follow photo guide.History
Dressed crab can be traced back to England in 1792, when it was featured in British author Richard Briggs' "The New Art of Cookery According to Present Practice," but was not published in America.
It is now commonly found in seafood restaurants or fish markets. However, you can easily make it at home using cooked crab from your local supermarket or fishmonger.
Where to Purchase and Select Cooked Crab
When buying cooked crab, make sure it is heavy for its size and has a mild, ocean-like odor. Avoid any crab that has an overpowering fishy odor, a discolored shell, or missing limbs.
Inquire with your seafood vendor about selecting a good one.
Some supermarkets and fish markets sell pre-dressed crabs for convenience. However, for the best flavor, we suggest purchasing a whole cooked crab and dressing it yourself.
If you bought your cooked crab frozen, make sure it's completely thawed. It is best to defrost overnight in the fridge, covered.
What kind of crab should I use?
Brown crab is the most commonly used crab for dressed crab in the United Kingdom.
It is also known as Cromer Crab (caught off the coast of Cromer in Norfolk) or Cornish Crab (caught off the coasts of Cornwall).
Other types of crab, such as spider crab, can also be used.
Whether male or female
Male crabs have larger claws than female crabs, which means more white meat. Females, on the other hand, may be carrying roe (eggs) that taste delicious.
There is a simple way to distinguish between male and female crabs. Simply turn the crab upside down, exposing the sternum, and examine the abdomen shape.
It is a female crab if it is wide and rounded. A male crab has a long and narrow abdomen flap.
The one we used for this post is a male, as evidenced by the long, thin abdomen.
This post does not cover how to cook a crab. This recipe is for pre-cooked crab. If your crabs are fresh, make sure to cook them first.
We do have a crab tool set that comes in handy.
However, you can remove the crab meat with everyday items such as the end of a teaspoon, skewers, and knives.
Crab Dressing Instructions
Dressing a crab is a straightforward procedure that entails removing the crab meat from the shell, body, legs, and claws. It only takes a few minutes, but it is messy and fiddly.
Wash your cooked crab in cold running water first, then remove the legs and claws.
How to Get Rid of Crab Legs and Claws
Squeeze the crab legs at the bottom socket and pull and twist them backwards away from the crab to remove them.
Repeat the process with the crab claws.
If the leg or claw socket does not come completely away, you can hook under and pull the socket out with a pick or the end of a teaspoon.
To separate the crab shell from the body, first remove the abdomen (the flap on the crab's underside).
Place your fingers on the shell's underside and use your thumbs to firmly push the body up and away from the crab shell. It will easily break open.
Crab parts that are not edible
Although not inedible, the following parts of the crab are not tasty and should be avoided in order to avoid a bitter-tasting dressed crab.
Remove the greyish gills and stomach sac (also known as "dead man's fingers" or lungs). All of this can be seen in the image above, surrounding the body.
They could be in the shell, depending on how it came out.
Push down on the mouth to separate it.
Brown Meat
Brown meat, which can be found in the shell and body, has a rich, sweet flavor.
Scrape any remaining brown meat from the body into a bowl.
Cut the crab's body in half to gain access to the meat inside. There will be some brown meat in here, as well as some white meat.
Extract the small pieces of meat from the nooks and crannies inside the body with the end of a teaspoon or a pick. It's surprising how much crab meat there is inside.
Keep the brown and white meat in separate bowls as you pick the meat from the crab and dress it back into the crab separately.
White Meat
Make a separate bowl for the white meat. The body contains some white meat.
However, the majority of the white meat is found in the claws and legs; it is tender and has a milder flavor than the brown meat.
Crab Legs
Crack the leg at the knuckle; if you're lucky, the meat will easily come out. If not, use a pick or a skewer to extract the meat. Rep with the next knuckle.
As you go, flake the white crab meat, making sure to remove any cartilage or shell.
The final leg joint is devoid of meat; I save two of them to garnish the dressed crab.
Crab Claws
The claws have the most meat in them. Crack open the claw with the back of a knife.
The meat easily comes out. Break at the next joint and help remove more with a pick (or the end of a teaspoon).
Make sure to flake all of the white meat because there is hard white cartilage to be removed.
What is the meat content of a cooked whole brown crab?
This will vary depending on the size of the crab, but it is likely to be around 200 grams on average.
Crab Meat Seasoning
Now you have two bowls of crab meat. You can season these however you want.
I use only salt, black pepper, and lemon juice. However, you can add additional herbs and spices, as well as mayonnaise, if desired.
Refrigerate these while you prepare the crab shell for dressing.
Making a Crab Shell
Clean the shell thoroughly in cold water.
Allow yourself more space by removing some of the shell.
There will be a line around the edge. Push up from inside the shell with a large spoon. It will crack, allowing you to fill it with the dressed crab meat mixture.
Remove the shell and set it aside.
Crab Shell Dressing
When making a dressed crab, I like to spoon the brown meat on the outside edges and the white meat in the center.
If you prefer, you can do it the other way around.
Finish with the lower leg joints that were saved.
Refrigerate until serving, wrapped in cling film.
Suggestions for Serving
Serve as part of a Seafood Platter with lemon slices.
You could serve it with a salad and pots of our seafood boil dip or marie rose sauce.
Serve with brown bread or toast and butter for a fancy starter or lunch.
For an extra kick, add a drizzle of our chilli vinegar.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- 1 Crab, Whole Cooked
- 1 Lemon 12 for juices, the remaining 12 for wedges
- Pinch Black pepper, salt
- Dill to garnish
- Mayonnaise
- The dressing instructions are for a precooked whole crab. If you buy cooked crab frozen, always defrost it overnight in the refrigerator before preparing it. Before you begin, rinse the crab in cold water.
- Remove the crab's legs by grasping the bottom leg socket and snapping them away from the crab.
- Repeat with the Claws.
- Keep your claws and legs to one side.
- Pull the abdomen away from the crab's body.
- Place your fingers on the underside of the shell and your thumbs against the crab shell to detach the body.
- Remove the gills (also known as dead man's fingers or lungs) from the shell; they may be on the body. Remove the stomach sack as well. Throw them away because they are bitter and unappealing.
- Push down hard on the crab's mouth until it cracks.
- In a bowl, scrape the brown meat from the shell and around the body. Using a sharp knife, cut the body in half. Remove the brown meat from the body.
- Once all of the brown meat has been removed, begin a new bowl for the white meat. Remove the hidden white meat from the inside of the body with a pick.
- Simply crack and pull the white meat from the legs, or use a pick. Flake it as you go, being careful not to leave any cartilage or shell behind. 2 of the thin legs should be kept to decorate the dressed crab.
- Crack the crab's claws with the back of a knife.
- Remove the meat from the claw.
- Break up the claw meat because there will be hard white cartilage inside that must be removed.
- You should now have two distinct bowls. One has white meat and the other has dark meat. Season with lemon juice, salt, and pepper to taste. If you want, you can add mayonnaise or other herbs.1 Lemon, Add a pinch of salt and black pepper to taste. Mayonnaise
- Remove the outer shell with a spoon, then follow the line around the shell, pushing up until it snaps.
- Insert the brown meat into both sides of the shell.
- Place the flakes of white meat in the center of the brown meat.
- Finish with the lower leg joints you saved earlier and some dill garnish.
- Keep it chilled until serving.
- Excellent served as part of a Seafood Platter.
Storage
It is best to consume the dressed crab as soon as possible. However, it can be made ahead of time and refrigerated for up to a day.
If you use fresh crab that has already been cooked, you can dress it and then freeze it for up to 2 months, thawing it overnight. I do not advise refreezing previously frozen crab.
Let us know how your dressed crab turned out in the comments section below.
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