Many people would love to take a cab to dinner, but are squeamish about the idea of killing a crab with a knife. This is understandable; crabs are very delicate creatures and as such need to be handled with care. However, the fact that they are not human food does not mean that they should be killed with anything less than the utmost care. There are some methods which can be used to quickly and safely remove a crab without causing any pain or injury to the crab. These include:
First, if you have a live crab, quickly grab the crab by the legs and hold it upside down. Then use your open hand to pry it out of the water. Some people recommend using a fork to pry the crab out of the water, but a shovel is just as good. If the crab is still inside its shell, twist the knife back and forth rapidly in an attempt to dislodge it from the shell. Try not to damage the crab as you do this and keep trying until you manage to get it out of the shell.
If the crab is still inside its shell, simply flip it over and begin the removal process once again. You will need to take your time with this second attempt to get the crab out without causing any additional pain or damage. Once you manage to remove the crab from its shell, carefully scoop it out of the water. Do not try to pick up the crab by the legs; this may cause the crab to slip out of its shell. Once you have successfully retrieved the crab from its shell, remove it from the water and either set it on a plate or drop it into a container.
Now if you are only planning on removing one crab from its shell, then this process will be relatively simple. Simply cut a small hole in the crab’s shell and scoop it out of the water. You will need to be careful not to allow any of the crab’s exoskeleton to escape. If you find that you have accidentally injured the crab, quickly insert a finger or a tweezers into its body to grasp onto it while trying to remove it from its shell. Remove the crab quickly to prevent any unnecessary trauma.
In order to slowly kill the crab without causing too much trauma to it, place a large pail with oxygenated water on the area where the crab is located. Allow the crab sufficient time to come up to the surface. This may require you to hold the crab up by its hind legs for a few minutes. If you attempt to catch it while it is in this state, you may cause serious damage to it or cause the crab to suffocate. Remove the crab slowly and carefully and replace it in its bucket of water.
If you are in a situation where you need to quickly kill the crab without causing too much damage, then using a knife can be an effective way to quickly remove the crab. Begin by removing the legs on the crab. The legs should be placed face down on the bottom of the bucket so that they will not be disturbed if the crab moves suddenly. The first thing to do when removing the crab is to remove all of the blood from the animal. Once the blood starts to dry, turn the crab upside down and remove all of its legs and gills. Use a pair of tongs to slowly remove the creature from its shell using both the force of your grip and the movement of your hand.
Some people prefer using a spearing fork to help aid in the process of removing the animal from its shell. To speared a crab, lift the crab out of its bucket of water and use the spearing fork to gently strike the crab against the floor of the tank in order to inflict damage to it. Remove the crab from the fork and immediately replace it in its bucket of water.
If you are using a knife to kill a crab, take care to not cut into the crab itself. Instead, insert the knife in the crab’s abdomen to gently crack the armor. Once this has been done, carefully remove the crab from the body of water and place it in a small plastic bag or tissue bag. Once the crab has died, remove it from the bag and dispose of it by throwing it into a sea or lake. The best way to catch a crab is to keep a live tank. For those who enjoy catching fish, you may also wish to learn how to fish a crab before you finally catch your prize.