Pick Crabs the Maryland Way
Tools you will need a crab picking knife, a crab mallet, brown paper or newspaper and paper towels.
Step 1
Using your hands, Take the back shell off the crab by pulling up on the shell and remove it. Now pull off the crab claws.
Step 2
Place the crab body in your hand. Carefully take a crab picking knife and scrape the crab lungs ( Also known as Devils or Crab Gills.) off of the shell and discard.
Step 3
Carefully using you crab knife cut behind the knuckles where the crab legs meet the body. There is crab meat in the legs. With your hands snap and break the crab legs in half to expose the leg meat.
Step 4
Take your crab knife and place it inside the body and remove the entrails. Cut across the top half of the body on both sides. This exposes the meat in the bottom half of the body. Remove the meat from the shells.
Step 5
Take the top half of the body that you removed and now carefully take your crab knife and remove the thin cartilage and expose the meat.
Step 6
Cracking the claw is easy and very rewarding. Carefully take your crab knife and place it on the pincher part of the claw. Tap your knife gently with the crab mallet at the joint of the claw. Pull the meat out. Then on the other side of the claw position your knife in the middle of the claw and gently tap with the crab mallet. Pull the meat out.
Step 7
Use your crab knife to dislodge the meat in the body as well as the claws.
If you wish to see this method of crab picking, we will be happy to demonstrate this technique at our store.