From Boiling to Steaming: A Quick Guide to Four Basic Ways to Cook Crab
Crab is a delightfully delicious ingredient and one which can either be the centrepiece of a meal or worked into a delightful recipe. Its versatility doesn’t stop there either, as it is a meat that can be prepared in a huge number of different ways. Four of the more common ways to cook crab are boiling, steaming, grilling and roasting.
Below, we give you a quick guide on how to do each one of these.
Boiling Crab
Boiling a crab is probably the easiest way to cook it.
As far as ‘fast food’ goes, it doesn’t get much easier than this.
Step One
Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. You should use around 30g of salt for every litre of water. You can add further seasoning or wine, or beer to the water if you so wish, but many connoisseurs swear by the simplicity of just salt and water.
Step Two
Once this water is bubbling, you should carefully put the crab in the water to cook.
Step Three
In terms of time, a 1kg crab will take about 10 minutes to cook. Use tongs to remove the crabs.
Leave them to cool and then, voila, you’ve a tasty crab! Do not put them in ice-water to cool down as this can cause the crab to become water-logged.
Steaming Crabs
Many people swear by the method of steaming crabs and there is little doubt that the results from this method can be scrumptious. You also avoid the potential pitfall of the meat becoming water-logged, which can happen while boiling.
Step One
Bring an inch of salt water to boil in a pot. Put your steamer basket in place and place.
Step Two
Once the water reaches boiling point, place the crabs in. You can then cover and let them cook. Steaming takes a little longer than boiling, so leave them around 20 minutes.
Step Three
Remove the crabs with a thong and wait for them to cool. You can then rinse them under cool water to clean them before serving.
Grilling Crab
Before you grill crabs, you should give them a clean. It’s also a good idea to steam or boil your crabs, so they’re halfway cooked, before using the grill to give them that delicious finish.
Step One
Boil or steam your crabs for seven minutes, then let them cool and give them a rinse.
Step Two
Toss your crabs with some olive oil and a minced clove of garlic. Place them on a pre-heated grill and cook through until browned. This should take around five minutes per side.
Roasting Crab
Roasting crabs is a delightful way to cook the tender meat as it is simple and easy, but it also holds in all the flavour.
Step One
Preheat your oven to around 450F. You should also follow step one for grilling crabs, as it’s much easier if you partially boil, or steam, the ingredient.
Step Two
Clean the crabs, then toss them with oil, butter and whatever seasoning is to your taste.
Step Three
Set them on a roasting pan and place them in the oven. Watch for about ten minutes, until they are brown and completely cooked through, then enjoy!
Conclusion
There you have it! Four delightful ways to cook a crab. As we said, they are and easy and nutritious meal that you can have ready in a matter of minutes. Now that you know how to cook it, go ahead and find out how to pick a crab and eat it so you don’t waste any of the delicious meat!
As nature’s fast food, you couldn’t ask for more!
