When browsing through the recipes available from Gourmet Shopper you will find numerous delicious and succulent crab dishes to sink your teeth into. Here is some advice on how to preparethem and to attain the most tender, mouth-watering tastes.

Information provided by R&R Publishing

To Store

Wrap in plastic wrap, foil or store in airtight container in refrigerator up to 3 days or you can freeze up to 3 months providing your freezer operates at -18C.

To Prepare a crab

For green or cooked crabs, insert the point of a knife at "seam" area where the top shell meets the base ( the opposit eside of th

To Cook a crab

To cook live crabs : The mst humane method is to place the crab into the freezer for several hours. This method does not freeze the meat but has an anaesthetising effect on the crab. Never plunge into boilng water as this toughens the meat and the claws can fall off. It is generally thought to be more painful for the crab. Then place into cold water, cover pan and bring to boil, simmer 5-20 minutes (depending upon size).

 Alternatively, to kill crab instantly, stab just behind the eyes with the point of a sharp knife.
The crab is cooked when it urns a bright orange colour. A great way to eat crab is cold with lemon and pepper. The meat is sweet and succulent and requires little else. Goes well with lemon, lime, parsley, coriander, and thyme. It is ideal served with fruit and salad vegetables.

To clean a crab

Place crab on its back, and gently fold back tail flap or apron. Twist and pull apron off. You will find that the intestinal vein is attached and will pull out along the apron. Discard.

Hold the crab with one hand where the apron was removed. Use the other hand to pry-up, and tear-off and discard the top shell. Remove the gills, take out the greyish bag and pull out the mandibles from front of crab. .

Hold the body where the legs were attached and apply pressure so that the crab splits in half along the center of the body. Fold back halves and twist apart.

Twist off claws and legs where they join the body. Crack with hammer or nutcracker to make the meat easy to remove.