Whenever you get a Florida stone crab delivery, it’s important that you cook the crab right away. Freezing your stone crab claws is a great way to save them for later, but it also greatly decreases the flavor. You can really tell the difference between fresh and frozen stone crab claws. One thing you need to know before you cook your crab is how to tell if your stone crab claws are cooked perfectly. Knowing this will help you gauge what recipe you need to use and if your crab is ready to eat.
Precooked or Not?
One of the big things you’ll need to learn is how to tell if you have precooked or raw stone crab claws. Most people sell crab claws precooked, meaning you just need to warm them up. However, some places sell crab claws without cooking them, and you don’t want to confuse the two groups.
Inspect the Shell
When you’re looking to cook crab meat, you don’t need to crack open the shell to tell if it’s cooked or not. You can determine this by simply inspecting the shell. A fully cooked crab claw will look bright red or orange—the color most people think of on crabs. An undercooked or uncooked crab shell will be green or brown in color.
Different Cooking Methods
The reason all of this matters so much is because you need to choose a cooking style and recipe based on the state of the crab. Precooked crab will only need a few minutes of steaming or boiling to heat up, while uncooked crab claws will take a while to turn red. You only want to serve crab when the shell is red; otherwise it’s not done, and the meat will be bad.
That’s how to tell if your stone crab claws are cooked perfectly. You can also check when you serve the dish, as cooked crab meat should separate easily from the shell. However, this method doesn’t help as much when you’re cooking the meat.
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