How to crack and pick a crab!

How to crack and pick a Dorset Crab

The following steps have been mastered by our own highly trained pickers over many years, so take it from these professionals, there is a right way to crack a crab! 

1) Lay the crab on its back and twist off the legs and claws.
2) Holding firmly on to the shell, push the body section out with your thumbs.
3) Pull of the ‘dead man’s fingers’ - these are tough and inedible and should be discarded.
4) Scoop out the brown meat from the shell and reserve.
5) Cut the body section in half (try not to shatter cartilage when doing this as it will be difficult to remove later) and, using a small spoon or crab pick, carefully remove the white meat.
6) Crack open the legs and pull out the meat with a pick.
7) Twist apart the claw sections then break the claws with the end of a heavy knife (when doing this, try to use just enough pressure to crack the shell or smash it into pieces as this will reduce the likelihood of bits of shell making their way into the dish). Remove the meat with a spoon or pick.
8) Finally, pick through the crab to check for any stray shell.