|
The Art Of Cooking And Eating Snow Crab Legs
Snow Crabs are well known for having very tasty legs. In order to harvest Snow Crab
legs, fishermen must brave treacherous and frigid waters to collect Snow Crabs. These crabs live as
far north as the Arctic Ocean and as far south in the Pacific Ocean by California. The difficulty
fishermen go through to harvest Snow Crabs is shown on the Discovery Channel through a televisions
series that has lasted multiple years. Watching this show often gives people a whole new
appreciation for just how much trouble these giant crabs are to catch.
People often refer to more than one type of species of crab as a Snow Crab. These
four species are all part of the spider crab family and vary in sizes. The names of others included
with Snow Crabs are; Queen Crab, King Crab, and Tanner Crab.
Any of these crabs can grow to be 2 feet long and weigh in at around 5
pounds. The true Snow Crab is known as Chionoecetes opilio or C. Opilio for short. Chionoecetes
means Snow Inhabitant and opilio means Shepherd, but Snow Crab is much easier to remember and
quicker to say.
Restaurants serve the meaty legs of these crabs as a main course. They can be filling, but tend to
be more expensive when served at restaurants far from the ocean. The further they need to be
shipped, the pricier they tend to be. There are some online stores that sell Snow Crab claws and
legs. Some prices for the legs are around 15 dollars per pound, but there is a discount provided if
more pounds are purchased in each order. A 5 pound bag of broken crab legs runs about 10 dollars
cheaper than whole crab legs.
Crab legs that are going to be shipped are usually already cooked and frozen before they are
shipped out. Since this meat is frozen, it needs to be shipped relatively quickly. The crab legs or
claws are packed in dry ice or frozen gel packs and placed inside a Styrofoam container. Priority
overnight shipping is the quickest way these are shipped, as well as the most costly. Two day air
is the cheapest method of shipping available and the slowest form of shipping possible that can be
done safely. Any type of shipping that takes longer isn't offered.
1. If crab legs are purchased fresh from a market, the following cooking directions can be used: 2.
Add 2 to 3 pinches of salt in a large pot of water, place a lid on top, and bring it to a boil 3.
Place crab legs in boiling water and put a lid back on top of the pot 4. After the water returns to
a boil, reduce heat and steam legs for ten minutes; longer if frozen 5. When finished boiling,
place crab legs on plate and let cool for a few minutes 6. Crush a clove of garlic, add to quarter
cup of butter, and melt 7. Stir butter until garlic is mixed; salt, pepper, or lemon juice may also
be added
Of course, now that they are cooked, they need to be eaten. Crab legs are difficult
to eat without the proper tools. There are specialty tools made for cracking crab legs without
crushing them to pieces.
These crab leg crackers have a rounded center that make it possible to apply
just enough pressure to get the leg open for the meat inside. In order to reach the meat inside the
legs, there are long and narrow forks with two small prongs on the end. These are small enough to
fit all the way inside the crab legs and retrieve the meat.
Crab legs usually come in clusters of four; four from each side of the crab. Each individual
leg has two parts that are connected by a single joint. When this joint is snapped in half, some of
the meat might come out. If there's no sign of the meat coming out easily, then it's time to use
the crab leg crackers. The crackers will conform to the same shape that the legs have, so it's easy
to figure out how to work them. Once the meat is retrieved from inside the legs, dip it in the
butter sauce and enjoy.
The forks will come in handy if the meat is stubborn and sticks to the inside of the crab leg. Snow
Crab legs can also be grilled in a packet of foil that is sealed and placed on a barbeque grill.
This takes about 8 to 10 minutes. When grilled, crab legs can be eaten right after they come off
the grill.
Read More at Everything on
Crabs
|
