Why snow crabs tasted awful at restaurants
The most stupid advertisements of snow crab restaurants would advertise their snow crab intestines as if they were dipping sauces with a watery texture. This is an indication that the sea water of the snow crab wasn’t drained and with a high chance the blood wasn’t drained as well.
If a consumer had snow crab intestines in a shell that was excessively watery, salty with a fishy smell and unpleasant odor, there is a high chance that the blood wasn’t removed properly.
The white clumps in a snow crab intestine are the blood that solidified and the main cause of the awful tastes of snow crabs. Draining the sea water and blood takes at least 10 minutes so many restaurants don’t drain the sea water and blood while many consumers just think this is the taste of snow crabs.
Snow crabs are much more delicious, sweet and flavorful with the blood and sea water drained. If you ever felt unpleasant from a snow crab dish, the blood and sea water not being drained is the main cause.
Important tips for steaming snow crabs 1. Slit the mouth of the snow crabs and drain the blood for at least 10 minutes
Snow crab blood make white clumps and ruin the whole snow crab meat and intestines with salty fishy flavor, unpleasant odor and causing a watery texture.
Use a knife or tool to slit the mouth of the snow crab. This also knocks out the snow crab instantly that would prevent the snow crab from removing its legs when steamed. Place the snow crab upside down and drain the blood for at least 10 minutes.
Important tips for steaming snow crabs 2. Place the snow crab in the steaming pot with the belly heading upwards.
The snow crab should be knocked out before it enters the steaming pot or the snow crab would struggle and remove its legs. The snow crab’s back shell is much thicker and helps prevents the snow crab’s meat and intestines from excessive heat.
If the snow crab’s belly isn’t headed upwards, the intestines and the meat would meet excessive heat that causes it to overcook and make a rubbery texture.
Also, gravity would make the snow crab spill its meat juices and intestines when the belly side is completely placed on the bottom of the steamer. If the crab was alive by any chance, it would spill more meat juices and intestines as it would try to breathe or struggle for survival.
Important tips for steaming snow crabs 3. Tilt the snow crab a little bit so it could drain more blood and sea water.
It takes a very substantial amount of time to drain the blood and sea water within the snow crab although at least 10minutes is mentioned above.
If the snow crab is tilted lesser than 30 degrees from the bottom, more blood and sea water could be drained from the snow crab. This even concentrates the intestines so the flavor of the intestines intensifies without a watery texture.
Also the snow crab intestines and meat wouldn’t taste salty because the sea water was removed. Solidified and concentrated intestine make the rice and snow crab intestine much more flavorful.
The snow crab intestines are either mixed with rice or fried before serving. With the excessive water removed, the rice could be coated with more crab intestines rather than having water so it makes a much more concentrated flavorful snow crab intestine and rice dish.
Important tips for steaming snow crabs 4. Always seal the steamer and never open the lid during steaming process. Snow crab turns black.
Enzymatic reactions of crustaceans such as snow crabs cause chemical reactions of the sulfur and iron ions that turn the crabs black. Black ferrous sulfide molecules form when these iron ions and sulfur react with oxygen and oxidize.
These black ferrous sulfide molecules causes the snow crab to turn black. Although it is edible and this is a natural reaction, it makes the snow crab unappealing.
Along with the heat of the steamer, opening the lid of a sealed off steamer allows a large amount of oxygen which make a high energy-high oxygen environment that speeds up the enzymatic reactions that produce the black ferrous sulfide molecules.
Important tips for steaming snow crabs 5. Always rest for at least 10 minutes
Resting the snow crab meat allows time for the shell and the meat to cool down preventing the shell from sticking to the meat. Also, it allows the heat to circulate and create a moist but firm texture but trapping the crab meat juices inside.
Points to check for choosing dead Snow Crab 1. Dead snow crabs are always a mystery box. Dead snow crabs do not comply with logic
The same criteria apply for dead snow crabs, however choosing dead snow crabs is always a gamble and is like opening a mystery box, Snow crabs and most crustaceans rapidly decay when they are about to die or when they are dead.
One possible explanation for the fast decay of snow crabs and crustaceans is the large liver and pancreas of the snow crabs.
The intestines of the snow crabs are mostly the liver and the pancreas like other crustaceans. The liver and pancreas are full of eznymes including digestive enzymes so once the enzymes are released without control, it quickly decay the body of the snow crab.
Points to check for choosing dead Snow Crab 2. Check the smell of the snow crab. Especially check the tail part gap between the shell and the mouth of the snow crab
Snow Crabs that are about to rot quickly emit the smell of ammonium. This is especially the strongest of the little gap on the posterior end of the crab shell(where the tail would be if it was a tailed animal) and recognizable in the mouth.
The Ammonium smell would indicate the quality of the dead snow crab that would quickly decay. the snow crab if the ammonium smell strikes through your nose.
Points to check for choosing dead Snow Crab 3. Checking the snow crab legs for meat yield could be a trap
It may depend on where the snow crab died whether in an aquatic environment or outside water. However, overall, checking the meat yield of the snow crab legs for dead snow crab could be misleading.
When snow crabs die in the water, sea water of the aquarium(no one stores snow crabs in tab water or fresh water unless they are about to cook them) enters the snow crab. This water that entered the snow crab could make the snow crab legs plump and full so the information is misleading.
Points to check for choosing dead Snow Crab 4. Do not be greedy for leg meat yield for dead snow crabs. Only check for signs of freshness
Mentioned above, dead snow crabs are always a mystery box and searching for fresh dead snow crab that didn’t decay yet with high crab meat yield is impossible.
It is foolish to get greedy and depend on the high crab meat yield. For choosing dead snow crab, freshness is the only option that you should be checking or you would end up with a heavy piece of trash.
Points to check for choosing dead Snow Crab 5. Check the red and pinkish color of the snow crabs
Dead snow crabs don’t follow logic but still one of the indicators that are effective for dead snow crabs is the color. Dead snow crabs that still have the reddish pinkish color may have higher quality than others that are just pale white.
Points to check for choosing dead Snow Crab 6. Avoid swollen snow crabs. Plump snow crab legs could also be a trap
Similar from the snow crab legs, snow crabs that were dead in the water for a long time absorb seawater a lot.
This makes the taste saltier and the excess water highly increased the time the snow crab goes bad. The water that entered the crab would make the crab swell so swollen dead snow crabs must be avoided.
