How to Simmer Crab

This is one of the simplest ways to cook crab. Once cooked and chilled, the meat can be removed for use in virtually any recipe. You can eat the crabs as they are, or you can chill them for at least two hours and enjoy them cold.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Dungeness Crabs
• Juice From 3-4 Lemons
• Salt
• 10- To 12-qt. Pots

1. Fill the pot about halfway with water and bring to a boil.
2. Salt the water lightly and add the lemon juice.
3. Meanwhile, rinse crabs under cold running water to remove loose sand and scrub them with a stiff brush if they're dirty or slimy. Hold them with gloves or tongs at the back, away from pincers.
4. Plunge each crab headfirst into boiling water, carefully holding it at the back.
5. Turn heat down and cover pot.
6. Simmer about 5 to 10 minutes for small crabs and about 5 minutes longer for crabs that weigh between 1 1/2 and 2 pounds.
7. Fill a large bowl or pot with ice while crabs cook.
8. Remove crabs with tongs or a large skimmer when they are done and plunge them into the ice to stop cooking. Remove them when they've chilled.
9. Clean and crack each crab. (See Related eHow "How to Clean and Crack Hard-Shell Crab.")

Tips & Warnings

• Crabs should always be alive and still lively before cooking.
• Frozen crab legs have been precooked and don't need to be simmered.
• Do not chill crabs in a water bath, as they will absorb this water. If you don't have ice, remove the crabs from the water and refrigerate them a few hours or overnight.
• Save the shells to make crab bisque.
• Watch out for the pincers of live crabs.