Cooking Crab on the Barbecue
No steamy smelly galley
No need for big pots and propane tanks
What you’ll need:
-Dungeness or Red Rock Crab, cleaned * (cleaning your crabs before cooking allows for more crabs in the space and allows you to eat them hot from the grill, besides the fact that it’s hard to wrap them if they are alive)
-Barbecue (heated to medium high)
-Heavy Duty Foil
Wrap the crab in two layers of heavy duty foil, being careful not to pierce the foil, and place it on a heated (medium high) grill. Close cover on barbecue and set timer for 10 minutes. Remove lid and turn over the entire package (wearing rubber oven mitts is recommended) Cover grill, wait another 10 minutes and turn again. Set the timer for a last 10 minutes (that’s 30 minutes total) and your crab should be perfectly steamed in the foil and ready to crack and eat. Use caution when opening foil.
*When I catch crab I like to kill and clean them while they are still fresh. I turn a crab onto it’s back (getting hold of the back legs to turn it usually keeps your fingers out of harm’s way) Holding the crab with both hands using my thumbs on the belly and my fingers on the back I am able to hold legs and claws from pinching and scratching me and firmly gripping the crab I crack it in the middle of the back by smacking it on a sharp edge while pulling it apart. This kills the crab immediately and I have two halves that are easy to clean and store till I’m ready to cook.
This comment from Nordic Tug "General" .....
ReplyDeleteWe were taught by pros..... Knock the little critters head to make those legs stop moving around.... Using the fish cutting board... Flip and align hatchet on center. Use rock... If no hammer... Cut on swim step so guts can be rinsed in sea water. Nice clean halves.
Also, Midge steams her crabs. ( less water use ). If you do water boil the crabs end up wet. she had a dish drainer and hangs the crab halves on the sides to allow that water to drip out. With bar-be-que method you don't have that