Blue Crabs

Once a week, Oriental Mart, in East Lansing - the biggest Asian grocery store in Lansing area and Mid-Michigan - will get their shipment of live Blue crabs in. Though it's a lot of work to eat such a small amount of their meat, they are very delicious!! Only 15% of their weight is edible meat, but that meat is high in vitamin B12.

Blue crabs are always marketed live. The best way to store a hard-shell crab is in a cool, moist environment. It is important to store live crabs at a 50-degree temperature. Holding live crab in a standard refrigerator (36-degrees) will finally kill them. While it is suggested that the shelf life for hard-shell crabs is 2-3 days, that includes all of the shipping and processing time. Crabs can survive for long periods out of water, as long they can keep their gills moist. To keep a crabs gills from drying out, store them in a cool, moist environment.


The simplest way to cook the crabs is to toss them in a pot of boiling water for 6-8 minutes or so. I usually steam them, which will take 10 to 15 minutes. But first, you need to clean them by plunge them into boiling water for 30 seconds, remove them and clean them under running water, paying special attention to use a brush on the underside behind the legs. Once cooked, they turns red-orange color. Their meat is known for its delicious flavor and delicate texture.