How to peel king crab meat and how to choose fat and thin live king crabs

King crabs are known as the "king of crabs". They live in the cold deep sea, so they are not cheap. Generally, those who can afford to eat king crabs can be considered "rich". The crab shell of the king crab is full of thorns, so it takes skill to peel the crab meat from the crab shell completely. So how do you do it? How do you tell if a live king crab is fat or thin?

How to peel king crab meat

Tools: Scissors

Method: ①First use kitchen scissors to separate the crab body and crab legs.

② Start cutting the crab body from the part connected to the crab legs towards the center. If you can’t cut it all the way through in one go, change direction until the crab body is completely separated. Then you can taste the meat inside.

③ Next, it's time to cut the tender and chewy crab legs. Place the red side of the crab legs facing up and start cutting from both sides with scissors. If you encounter a difficult part to cut, please change the direction slightly.

④After cutting, you can peel off the shell. If the joint is difficult to peel off, use scissors to cut it off.

⑤ Peel the crab meat just like in the food show.

Note: Please use scissors safely. King crabs have many hard spines. It is best to wear gloves when peeling the shell to avoid injury!

How to choose fat and thin live king crabs

The fatness of king crabs can be determined by looking at the cross section of the crab legs or the crab body. Generally, bulging ones indicate that the crab meat is full of fat, while concave ones indicate that the crab body is not fat enough. In addition, it can also be distinguished by gender. The peak season of king crabs is in October and November every year. Generally, female crabs in August of the lunar calendar are fatter and have more crab roe; male crabs in September of the lunar calendar are more fragrant and have more crab fat.

There is a saying about eating crabs: "Nine females and ten males" and "September has round belly and October has pointed belly".

What is the difference between king crab and crab?

1. True crabs have eight legs and a pair of claws; king crabs have three pairs of legs and a pair of claws, two of which are missing and hidden due to degeneration.

2. Look at the joints. The leg joints of the king crab are all bent backwards, while the leg joints of the crab, the front two pairs and the claws are all bent forwards.

3. Another way to tell is by looking at the way they walk. Crabs all run in small steps as fast as the wind, while king crabs walk leisurely with their long legs, like a spider taking a stroll.

Why King Crab is not a Crab

From a species perspective, king crabs are indeed not crabs.

The crabs we usually eat include swimming crabs, blue crabs, hairy crabs, etc. These crabs belong to the subphylum Gastropoda of the order Decapoda. The king crab is a crustacean of the superfamily Craboidea of ​​the order Decapoda and is a "distant relative" of crabs.

From the perspective of species attributes, the huge king crab is actually more closely related to the tiny hermit crab.