How to clean fresh crabs? Crabs mainly feed on rotten shrimps and fishes in the water, so the surface and body of crabs contain a lot of bacterial toxins. If you do not wash them thoroughly when eating, eating them will be bad for your health. Moreover, crabs grow in inland rivers and lakes. If they are not cleaned well, cooked crabs will feel muddy when eaten, and the taste will not be good.
The first step of how to clean fresh crabs: cleaning stomach viscera
Tips for cleaning stomach viscera:
(1) Soaking in salt water
The bought live crabs should first wash off the dirt on the body surface with clean water. Then soak in light salt water for a period of time so that the crabs can spit out the dirt in the stomach. During the soaking period, pay attention to changing the water more until the water spits out by the crab is clean. Then pinch its back, and hang it close to the edge of the disc. So that the double clamps can just clamp the coil strings.
(2) Liquor soaking
Soak the crabs in the wine for 5-10 minutes and take a full bath. Through the stimulation of wine, the booty in the body can be discharged, and the crab can also be drunk with white wine. The wine can not only remove the fishy smell of the crab but also make the crab lose its struggle, which is convenient for subsequent operations. Of course, if you don’t have white wine at home, you can burn it with 45-degree warm water. When the water temperature is high, the crab’s feet and claws will fall off. Presumably, people who have cooked crabs will realize this, and this will not directly burn the crabs to death. Which in turn will affect the nutrition and taste of the crabs. Put the crabs in warm water. After about 3-5 minutes, the crab is not moving.
How to clean crab viscera:
(1) In addition to the stomach: located in the first half of the crab shell, there is no mud inside, and it is the place where bacteria grow and multiply. Crab stomach is commonly known as “crab monk”. It is a small triangular bony bag in the center of the front edge of the back shell, with dirty sand inside.
(2) Intestine removal: It is located in the middle of the navel of the crab, showing a black line.
(3) Remove the crab heart: it is located in the middle of the crab roe. The crab’s heart is extremely cold and hexagonal in shape, also known as “hexagonal meat”. It is in the center of the crab, under a black film coat, and can be picked out with the tip of a crab when eating.
(4) Gill removal: two rows of soft things that grow on the abdomen of crabs like eyebrows, also known as “crab louver”. On both sides of the crab body, there are more pathogenic bacteria and dirt.
Tips: The above parts are dirty and have no edible value. Do not chew them indiscriminately to avoid food poisoning.
The second step of how to clean fresh crabs: brushing them crabs
After the crab vomits out the pollutants in the stomach, it is time to scrub the crab with water. When scrubbing, be careful not to open the water too much. Scrub the crab with a toothbrush and use force when brushing.
The specific steps of brushing crabs:
(1) Scrub the sides, back, abdomen, and mouth of the crab first. Following it then scrub the roots of the crab legs and claws.
(2) The ventral part of the crab is the part that needs to be cleaned mainly. Because there are many pollutants and excrement in the ventral cap. Before cleaning, the excrement in the ventral cap should be squeezed out first. After that, the ventral cap should be cleaned with a brush dirty things.
(3) Finally, scrub the crab claws and rinse them with water.
How to scrub crabs:
(1) Grasp the sides of the crab cover with the thumb and index finger of the left hand and turn over the crab belly to face yourself. Use a toothbrush to brush the 8 legs of the crab with the right hand to remove the mud and sand. The thumb and index finger of the left hand must be grasped firmly to prevent the crab from struggling to escape.
(2) After brushing the thighs, use a toothbrush on both sides of the crab cover. Also, use it on the two crab claws, especially the crab claws must be brushed a few more times because the crab claws are hairy and easy to hide dirt.
(3) The following is the most difficult step. Use the thumb, index finger, and ring finger of the left hand together to grab a pair of crab claws and turn them over. The thumb and index finger of the right hand will open the navel of the crab and squeeze out the spoils. If you want to perform the three-finger magic skill of the left hand well, you must not be afraid of being caught by a crab, which is what is called bold and careful. Once you grasp the crab claws, you must use force to prevent the crab from breaking free, otherwise, there is a possibility of being pinched.
(4) When the crab navel does not fit the crab belly. Use a toothbrush to quickly brush the sediment in the gap between the crab belly and the crab navel.
The third step of how to clean fresh crabs: finishing soaking and cleaning
Finally, put the cleaned crabs into a pot with half a pot of clean water. After washing all the crabs, fill them up with clean water and soak them for about ten minutes before rinsing. The purpose is to wash away the dirty water brought in when washing the crabs. This will aid you to clean the crabs thoroughly.
tips
1. Be sure to use force when washing crabs, and do not miss any part.
2. It is best to cook or steam the washed crabs as soon as possible. Because the crabs are easy to die if they are dehydrated for too long. Also, the taste of the dead crab meat will become less delicious, and even eating them after leaving them for too long will cause poisoning.
3. If fresh live crabs are to be stored for a period of time, it is best not to wash them and store them, as they are more likely to die. Generally, it is best to finish eating crabs about 3 days after leaving the water.