Crabs (to boil)

Boiled alive from cold, slowly, specifically so they do not throw off their claws.

From: The Cook Book by Oscar of the Waldorf
Published: 1896
Yikes Scale: Iffy

Exactly as printed, 1896

Crabs are in season from April to September, and in May they lose entirely the dryness of flesh for which they are noted during the winter months. The richest flavored crabs are those of medium size, say from six to ten inches in their broadest diameter. They should be boiled alive, being plunged into cold water, and, as the water warms, a handful or so of salt should be thrown in upon them, and when the water has been boiling for twenty minutes or half an hour, according to the size of the crabs, they may be considered sufficiently cooked. If placed in hot water at first, they are apt to throw off their claws by a violent jerk, and then the water would soak into the flesh and make it sloppy. After the salt is thrown in, the scum which rises to the top of the water should be carefully skimmed off. The claws of large crabs should be tied to prevent their opening and pinching or injuring each other. Crabs are usually sold ready boiled, which is, of course, a great convenience to the cook, whose next care is that of selection. The best crabs are always heavy, according to size; the claws and legs should be all on. They should be firm and stiff, and the eyes bright rather than dull. The male crab has larger claws than the female, but less body in proportion, therefore selection should depend upon whether the preference leans to white meat or to the more mellow liver and creamy fat which surrounds it. The female also has a much broader tail than the male.

The Cook Book by Oscar of the Waldorf, 1896. Public domain; transcription unaltered.

So what happens if I make it?

Oscar's reasoning is correct as far as it goes. Crabs dropped into boiling water do shed claws, and open joints let water into the meat and ruin it.

The slow heat from cold is the part current practice has moved away from, on welfare grounds — chilling first, or spiking, is now the usual advice. And twenty to thirty minutes will leave you with stringy, flavourless meat: blue crabs are done in eight to ten.

Notes from the 21st century

The crab problem is real and old. Every method trades off between the cook's convenience, the meat's quality and the animal's experience. Oscar is optimising for the meat.
Season and size. April to September, and medium crabs of six to ten inches. The book is specific because it mattered to the kitchen.
Decapod welfare is now regulated in places. The UK recognised decapod crustaceans as sentient in 2022. Practice is changing on grounds Oscar was not weighing.

Also in this book

Almond Milk — Four ounces of almonds to a pint of water — “either bitter or sweet,” says Oscar, as though it made no difference.
Braised Calf's Head (with Calf's Head, Financiere) — Boned, stuffed and sewn shut — and the Financière version forms the brains into cakes and skewers cockscombs on top.
Cleaning Codfish — Cod is crimped by being notched with a knife while still partly alive. Some cooks object.

Don't take our word for it. The complete book is online, free and searchable.

Read the original page →

More that is frankly gross

See all

Snail-and-Frog Broth

Francatelli's invalid broth: two or three garden snails, “the hind-quarters only of two dozen stream-frogs previously skinned,” bruised together and simmered with turnip and saffron.

🤢 Frankly Gross Iffy

Meals Medicinal · 1905

Canker in the Mouth (frog butter)

Boil a pound of butter, add “four common green frogs,” cook until dry, stir in alum. For canker of the mouth, throat or stomach. Said to be infallible.

🤢 Frankly Gross Big yikes

The House-Keeper's Guide and Indian Doctor · 1851

Snails à la Bordelaise (Lazzarini)

“Put ten pounds of snails in a covered barrel and keep for ten days.” Then salt, vinegar, and stirring “until a foam rises.” All of it alive.

🤢 Frankly Gross Iffy

Bohemian San Francisco · 1914