How to Clean Soft-Shell Crab: Prepping Soft-Shell Blue Crab

A soft-shell crab is a blue crab that has lost its hard shell. To keep growing, the crab sheds (or “molts”) its outer shell to make room for a bigger one to grow.

A crustacean that chefs use in seafood, crab is an ingredient in mains, sides, and other dishes. There are several types of crab suited to individual recipes, as well as a host of ways you can prepare the shellfish, including baking, boiling, and frying the crab meat. When people refer to crab meat, they mean the interior of the crab—the flesh underneath its hard, inedible shell or exoskeleton.

An area’s specific crab season will often depend on when soft-shell crabs are regularly most abundant. For example, crab season typically starts in the spring and runs through the fall in Maryland, where crab cakes and crab bisque are popular dishes.

Cleaning soft-shell blue crabs can be intimidating if it’s your first time. Here’s a step-by-step guide to simplify the process:

• Buy a live crab. It’s important to buy blue crabs while they are still alive. Like most shellfish, dead crabs decompose quickly, which can lead to an unpleasant odor. Ask a fishmonger at your local fish market to clean soft-shell crabs before you take them home. Alternatively, take home live soft-shell crabs and clean them yourself. It’s best to buy the crabs the same day you plan on eating them so they are fresh.
• Wash the crab. Rinse the crab under cold running water to remove any dirt and debris. Pat the crab dry with a paper towel or clean cloth.
• Cut off the face. Using a pair of kitchen shears, snip across the front of the crab just behind its eyes and mouth in a single cut. This does in the crab instantly and ensures it is dead before you continue your preparation.
• Remove the gills. Lift the tapered points on each side of the crab to expose the gills. These look like stringy, beige-colored frilly tongues. Pull them out of both sides of the crab and discard them.
• Remove the apron. Turn the crab over and pull off its shell, or apron. On male crabs, the apron will be long and thin; on females, it will be wider. Now you can use the crustacean in whichever crab recipes you choose.

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