1. Twist off the legs and claws.
2. Take a claw and split it at the joints. Put to one side. Twist pincer off at joint. Crack claw with the back of a knife or a rolling pin. Pick away shell and remove meat in one piece. Take smaller joints and pick out meat. Repeat with other claw.
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3. Take legs and split them at the joints. Pick out meat from inside.
4. Take main part of crab and lay shell side down. Remove body section, where legs were attached, by levering it out and pulling away. It can be tough, but it will pull away.
5. From this body section, remove grey gills from sides – the ‘dead man’s fingers’ - and throw these away as they’re not edible. Cut body into 4 pieces and pick out meat.
6. From shell, remove small stomach sac from behind mouth and discard. Scoop out soft brown meat.
7. To serve crab in shell, wash and dry it well. Break away softer shell underneath - there’s a natural groove in the underside where the shell should break cleanly away. Make sure all bits are cleaned out of the shell.
8. Break up whole claw meat into a bowl and add rest of white meat and brown meat. Stir to combine and season with pepper, salt and a squeeze of lemon juice. Stir together and serve in the cleaned shell.
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A crack team of highly skilled food content producers, the GH Kitchen Team are Good Housekeeping’s resident recipe developers and all-round food obsessives. GH Kitchen Director Sarah Akhurst is our resident hosting pro and loves nothing more than putting on a foodie feast for friends. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time. With a wealth of professional kitchen experience between them, they’re dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work every single time.
