While on vacation at the hotel resort by the ocean (see my earlier post), I ordered a whole Dungeness crab. It was extremely well-prepared, with herb & veg, and the ceremonial butter sauce. It came intact, waiting for me to devour it.
I soon found myself shunning the traditional crab-cracker tool, and dug in with my teeth, rending the beast from limb to limb. The meat around the pincers had the most flavor to me, and I delighted in busting the carapace open by biting on the sides of the legs as my father had once done. I reminded myself of the envelope-opening bunny I had once seen on YouTube, only more ferocious.
My wife observed this was a rather labor-intensive meal, and I'd have to agree. Tougher than a well-done steak for sure, and one risks lacerating their fingers along the spiky edges. But definitely worth it for the experience, not just the rich taste of the meat but the feeling of dominance and conquer-ship. Too testosterone-laden?
Well, the crab could be metaphorical. It could represent a challenge, or even a set of adversities that needs to be broken down into smaller pieces to be "sized up" and consumed. And so it happened, one limb after another, and then the main body.
I lifted the top of the crab like a pot lid, and proceeded to break it in half with my bare hands. This is where the majority of the accessible meat lay, and I essentially used the leg-holes as twisted sorts of finger puppets, poking my digits and pushing out more delicious crab meat.
The meat really stuck to the more bony parts, and so, I had to do several passes — again, I emphasize that a tool like the crab-cracker would not do, for it wasn't articulate enough to finely lift the meat off and scoop it into my mouth. Nor was it well-tuned to subdivide the centerpiece of the crab, breaking one chamber after another to uncover more meat and consume… CONSUME it.
(A metal poking stick would've come in handy, as a fork is just too large to push meat through the joints.)
At last, after much struggle, the whole crab had been wholly demolished, a messy plate of broken shells and my oily fingers to show for it. My wife commented on how intense I looked during the entire act, and I could only agree as we ordered dessert (NY-style cheesecake & chocolate lovers' something) shortly thereafter.
If you're a vegetarian, pardon I don't know a suitable substitute offhand. But if you crave crab, or have never had it before, should you find yourself in a nicely-groomed dining establishment which will serve up such a delicacy, I doth recommend it.
Thanx to Ravie for the pics!
{ 21 comments… read them below or add one }
I eat crab alllll the time. Great stuff! But bear in mind that some of the stuff inside the main body is not so much edible.
I admire the efficiency in using the same texture for your shirt and the upholstery on the seat behind you. It made the video load much faster for me! The only downside is that your head and hands seem to float in space while you consume your prey.
i am so hungry now!
Mmmm.. Crab!
Next time, you might want to try this little tip: if you ever think there is a possibilty you'll be eating crabs, bring a pair of chopsticks along. They don't have to be fancy, just the wooden ones you get with take-out will do. The size is perfect to scoot meat out of the hard to reach places and they won't bend like a metal fork.
=)
My dad used to catch dungeness crab all the time–and give most of them away! He doesn't anymore, since there's not so many crabs out there nowadays.
I notice you left the pointy leg tips on the crab. Those are very useful for use as meat-picks (and toothpicks afterwards). If you break off the movable half of the claw, that works even better.
Hehe, I want some crab now! It looks yummy…
Ewwwwww!
My sun sign is Cancer and this vicious feast seems a metaphor for the events of life. ROFL loadly!
@Marianne: Aye, do you mean the harder bits? If it was something else inedible, the chef removed it beforehand.
@Salazar: Ha, it's funny you say that because my wife observed I could blend into the seat. Kind of like Octocamo.
@Lakea: Intriguingly enough, the next day, we went for Chinese food. Good tip, and I should keep a pointy one around…
@thattagen: Goodness gracious! Using the crab ON ITSELF. Great idea, I didn't think to try that.
Yes, eat some crab, don't waste a thing! I was meticulous about my meating! This message has been approved by moi!
Looks like you amplified the crab's awesome.
Lol i bet you liked it i love crabs 2 there really nice when cooked in different spices!!!
Crab is one of my favorite foods, but it sure makes for a good hand workout! Snow crab is easy, but King Crab and others are painful and dangerous!!!
Have a great day, and keep up all you do.
Aww… Never ate any crab after moved to Canada. These were delicious… even just plain steamed.
Torley, I hate to break this to you but eating a single crab is nothing. In New Orleans we order them by the dozen, and it's nothing to eat at least 4. Granted, we don't use a butter sauce, we tend to use a cocktail sauce of some sort. My family's usual boiled seafood dipping sauce uses ketchup, horseradish, Worcestershire sauce and lemon. and it's always messy.
Damn, now I miss going to Brunnings. Too bad Katrina killed it and I don't know if they rebuilt.
Hey Torley, in France we love seafood too, but have you ever tasted snails ?
OK it may sound weird at first, but it is worth a try especially if you like garlic and butter mmmm yummy !
And of course you don't have to eat the shells…
Cool.
I've eaten crab before where it cut my hand… was very sharp.
@Nanci: I'm glad you broke that to me, because now I've got to set my sights HIGHER!
New Orleans is one of those places I romanticize because of reading literature set there (no, not Ann Rice). Also, one of my fave X-Men, Gambit, is Cajun.
@Angus: I have! It's been awhile but I did enjoy snails.
what can I say, crab or no crab , does not matter much to me. What matters most is I am my own son's biggest fan and I am so very proud of him no matter what he does!!! Hi Tor, keep up with your good work.Mom loves you unconditionally <3<3<3
Hi Mom! <3
@ Torley's mom. He is awesome indeed and does a great many people a great service!
Keep up the good work torley!
What I want to know is, what is the orange stuff? Not the "mustard" but the orange stuff (may just be orange because of excessive crab boil usage). Is it fat?
If you're asking about the orange stuff in the female crabs, I believe what you're asking about is the eggs. We usually just put them aside.
@Lakea:
We usually bring the nut picks we use to get the meat out of pecans. It works great and won't bend either. You can see something like we use on Amazon (search for Norpro Seafood Fork, I'm not sure if I can post HTML links) or ebay has a nutcracker & 4 nut pick set as I type this.