Learn How to Boil Live Crab

May 6, 2008

This weekend my pal philleif invited us over for a Kentucky Derby Party, which included some super strong drinks and some very fresh crab. I had never actually cooked live crab before — although I'd watched my mom make it a billion times growing up — and thought it would be a good opportunity to get over my squeamishness. To see all the steps, and learn how to do it yourself, just click the "Start" button.

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by POPSUGAR Food 20

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by POPSUGAR Food 20

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20 Comments

2 years 10 weeks

To the comments on cruelty above, this is why we have hunters.. And Gatherers. And honestly are you going to euthanise every single thing we EAT every night so it's comfortable.. Before we tear that shit up!? Boiling crabs, slaughtering cows, stealing little chickens eggs, trapping animals.. It's all a bit rough. But this is life for a carnivore.

3 years 40 weeks

thanks, i bought a crab at the farmers market and now i can finally prepare it.

emalove 5 years 1 week

I love lobster (crab, not as much), but I could never boil one or watch it being done. I can understand why it bothers people...it would bother me to see it as well. But I certainly don't think there's anything wrong with eating them...it's the same as eating any other kind of meat.

aimeeb 5 years 1 week

CaterpillarGirl people eat cat in some countries. How would you feel about someone throwing one of your cats into a boiling pot of water??:oy:

aimeeb 5 years 1 week

CaterpillarGirl people eat cat in some countries. How would you feel about someone throwing one of your cats into a boiling pot of water?? :oy:

austerity 5 years 1 week

Wow, how incredibly cruel. I can't believe the total lack of compassion in some reactions, no offense. Shall we throw one of u in a pan of boiling water until you die? Y'all need some empathy injections.

CaterpillarGirl 5 years 1 week

I boil lobsters and crabs alive all the time, I know exactly what I am doing to them ,and I have never shed one tiny tear into my little bowls of melted clarified butter. Its not cruelty, its dinner.

CaterpillarGirl 5 years 1 week

I boil lobsters and crabs alive all the time, I know exactly what I am doing to them ,and I have never shed one tiny tear into my little bowls of melted clarified butter. Its not cruelty, its dinner.

lattegoodness 5 years 1 week

Aimeeb, this picture makes me want to cry too. I find it amazing how people are so flippant about the cruel way these crabs are killed.

shoneyjoe 5 years 1 week

@ mn48225: from your story, it doesn't sound like the reason you got pinched because listened to a guy who doesn't cook. It sounds like you got pinched because you got distracted and let the crabs wake up. Putting them in the freezer doesn't kill 'em - they're cold blooded so it slows them down. If you let 'em wake up, they'll reanimate pissed off.There are a lot of studies on whether lobsters and crabs can feel pain - the boiling method is probably the fastest and easiest way to kill them, but it's considered illegal in some places. For lobsters, you can cut down through the tip of the head and sever the nerve bundles thus killing the lobster instantly. For crabs, I'm not so sure. I just toss 'em in a pot.And they're worth it - crabs are amazingly delicious. I often prefer the taste of crab to lobster.

shoneyjoe 5 years 1 week

@ mn48225: from your story, it doesn't sound like the reason you got pinched because listened to a guy who doesn't cook. It sounds like you got pinched because you got distracted and let the crabs wake up. Putting them in the freezer doesn't kill 'em - they're cold blooded so it slows them down. If you let 'em wake up, they'll reanimate pissed off. There are a lot of studies on whether lobsters and crabs can feel pain - the boiling method is probably the fastest and easiest way to kill them, but it's considered illegal in some places. For lobsters, you can cut down through the tip of the head and sever the nerve bundles thus killing the lobster instantly. For crabs, I'm not so sure. I just toss 'em in a pot. And they're worth it - crabs are amazingly delicious. I often prefer the taste of crab to lobster.

Advah 5 years 1 week

Yeah I can't really get over the fact you're boiling something alive. :(

aimeeb 5 years 1 week

This picture makes me want to cry.

aimeeb 5 years 1 week

cvandoorn I'm with you. I also think it's extremely cruel to throw a living thing alive. It is NOT a quick death and I could never live with myself. I can't watch another person do it and I actually once set free some lobsters my brother had at my parents once. I just think it's horrible.

aimeeb 5 years 1 week

chiefdishwasher 5 years 1 week

Some people say you can hear them screaming in their little crab voices.

cvandoorn 5 years 1 week

Hahahahaa mn48225. That's hilarious.I love crabs and all, but for some reason I can't eat crabs and lobster when the whole thing is in front of me. Just like I can't eat fish if it comes served to me with the head, tail, and scales still on it.

cvandoorn 5 years 1 week

Hahahahaa mn48225. That's hilarious. I love crabs and all, but for some reason I can't eat crabs and lobster when the whole thing is in front of me. Just like I can't eat fish if it comes served to me with the head, tail, and scales still on it.

mnp 5 years 2 weeks

My bff told me that it was cruel that I put the crab into boiling water so he found out that if you put them into the freezer for a while, they will go into a deep slumber. So I did that but I ended up getting distracted and the crabs woke up pissed off and I ended up getting a finger clamped in one of the claws...UGH! I shouldn't have listened to a guy who doesn't cook! lol. It's a funny story though.

nillawafer1983 5 years 2 weeks

My mom makes them with Indian spices and stuff, it's sooo good! I've actually only had them once just boiled and with butter, and idk, it kind of made me feel like I was eating it raw or something :-P