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Crab Facts From Frank Brigtsen
Posted on 7/13/15 at 4:23 pm
Posted on 7/13/15 at 4:23 pm
Frank called into Fitzmorris' show just now and talked about crabs. He said to determine which crabs are "fat", you need to keep in mind:
1) For males, who shed about 26 times in their lifetimes, the underside should not be clean and shiny. That means it has a relatively new shell and hasn't had time to fill out as much. Look for dirty undersides because it's been a while since they've molted, hence they're accumulated more fat and meat.
2) For females, they don't shed as many times as males, and so are smaller. but also, because they don't shed as much, they're more likely to be fat and meaty.
My mom always said to try to find one that feels heavy for it's size.
Anybody else have any seafood tips like this?
1) For males, who shed about 26 times in their lifetimes, the underside should not be clean and shiny. That means it has a relatively new shell and hasn't had time to fill out as much. Look for dirty undersides because it's been a while since they've molted, hence they're accumulated more fat and meat.
2) For females, they don't shed as many times as males, and so are smaller. but also, because they don't shed as much, they're more likely to be fat and meaty.
My mom always said to try to find one that feels heavy for it's size.
Anybody else have any seafood tips like this?
This post was edited on 7/13/15 at 6:37 pm
6
Posted on 7/13/15 at 5:03 pm to Stadium Rat
Female blue crabs have red tipped claws.
Full crabs have 2 white spots on the rear of top shell
Full crabs have 2 white spots on the rear of top shell
Posted on 7/13/15 at 6:37 pm to Stadium Rat
I've heard people say that the fullness of the crabs depends on the moon. I've tried to explain to them how this made no sense at all but my attempts were unsuccessful. 
Posted on 7/13/15 at 6:59 pm to supadave3
The fullness of the people could depend on the moon though.
Posted on 7/13/15 at 8:38 pm to Stadium Rat
Chef Frank is right...look for an ivory/yellowish cast to the crab's underside, not a snowy white/bluish tone. You can tell how close a crab is to shedding by looking at the flipper on the last leg...a whitish line means shedding within abt 10 days, a pinkish line is about a week out, and a red line means shedding is imminent. Crabbers sort the pink/red line crabs sepeately and a buyer will pay a premium for these live crabs which are destined to become softshells.
Posted on 7/13/15 at 8:46 pm to Stadium Rat
Worked at Castnet Seafood over 10 years ... customers would always say "I don't want that dirty crab!" ... and when you tried to explain how those were the fuller ones, they still wanted the clean, shiny white ones.
I wanted so bad to scream "ARE YOU EATING THE DAMN SHELL!?!?!?"
Nevermind crawfish shells are a hundred times dirtier.
I wanted so bad to scream "ARE YOU EATING THE DAMN SHELL!?!?!?"
Nevermind crawfish shells are a hundred times dirtier.
Posted on 7/13/15 at 8:57 pm to hungryone
quote:Yes. Now that's what I'm talking about!
Chef Frank is right...look for an ivory/yellowish cast to the crab's underside, not a snowy white/bluish tone. You can tell how close a crab is to shedding by looking at the flipper on the last leg...a whitish line means shedding within about 10 days, a pinkish line is about a week out, and a red line means shedding is imminent. Crabbers sort the pink/red line crabs separately and a buyer will pay a premium for these live crabs which are destined to become softshells.
My brother was a crabber in Lake Pontchartrain (175 traps) for a couple of years, but I never heard this stuff. I even helped him one summer, but getting up at 3:30 and getting back home at noon, too tired to do shite the rest of the day. That was not an attractive career path for me, or him, as it turned out.
My dad and my brother (both patent holders on other ideas) came up with an idea for an automated soft-shell crab harvesting system, but nothing ever became of it, because we didn't pursue it.
This post was edited on 7/13/15 at 9:01 pm
Posted on 7/13/15 at 8:59 pm to Stadium Rat
The dirtier the better.
Posted on 7/13/15 at 9:12 pm to Gris Gris
My brother and father's idea was to take "buster crabs", which were ones that were soon to shed into soft-shells, and place them into little boxes that were transparent on the top and bottom. You could use a light sensor to tell when the crab shed, because suddenly you'd have double the shells which would block double the light. Now, you knew the crab was soft and was ready to harvest.
My dad even envisioned a system to automatically remove the soft-shells to the freezer. Mind you, this was before the digital age. Beats getting up every 4 hours to check the crabs.
My dad even envisioned a system to automatically remove the soft-shells to the freezer. Mind you, this was before the digital age. Beats getting up every 4 hours to check the crabs.
Posted on 7/13/15 at 9:13 pm to Stadium Rat
Posted on 7/13/15 at 9:28 pm to Gris Gris
quote:
The dirtier the better.
Posted on 7/13/15 at 10:20 pm to Stadium Rat
I prefer female crabs for the reliable fat content.
Posted on 7/13/15 at 10:31 pm to Stadium Rat
Been eating crabs all my life and did not know this.
Thanks.
Thanks.
Posted on 7/14/15 at 8:09 am to GumboPot
I was in an Asian market one day and saw a cute Asian girl turning over the crabs with tongs and looking at them in a confused way. The clerk asked if he could help. She said her mother told her to get only female crabs, but she could not tell them apart. She had been checking them like they were puppies.
The clerk said to look for the red tips on the female claws, like lipstick or fingernail polish. I've remembered it since.
It looks like the shape on the abdomen is another, perhaps better, way to identify the sex and assess their maturity. So the puppy check can really work if you know what to look for. LINK
The clerk said to look for the red tips on the female claws, like lipstick or fingernail polish. I've remembered it since.
It looks like the shape on the abdomen is another, perhaps better, way to identify the sex and assess their maturity. So the puppy check can really work if you know what to look for. LINK
Posted on 7/14/15 at 8:18 am to Stadium Rat
I'm having a pretty bad year crab wise. The numbers are way down in the Rigolets. It's depressing.
I hope the rest of the state is having a better year.
I hope the rest of the state is having a better year.
Posted on 7/14/15 at 9:27 am to BRgetthenet
quote:
I'm having a pretty bad year crab wise. The numbers are way down in the Rigolets. It's depressing.
I'm hearing the same thing from people all over the barataria/terrebonne area. Catch is way down, quite a few crabbers have pulled their traps. If July is slow, this winter will be just awful. Haven't heard any legit scientific explanation for decreased yields...but we did have rather cold winters 2 years in a row, dunno if that's part of the impact. Takes about 1.5-2 yrs to go from egg to harvestable crab, so perhaps winter of '13-14's deep cold was part of the problem.
Posted on 7/14/15 at 9:42 am to hungryone
Little or no recruitment.
Posted on 7/14/15 at 11:47 am to BRgetthenet
One way I judge is pinching the underside next to the point....if it's pliable then it isn't full, stiff and no give=plenty of meat.
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