Exact Answer: 10 to 15 Minutes
Crabs are abundant animals. There are said to be more than thousands of species of crab and they are great seafood. Crabs are mostly consumed in the summer and spring months and are a great delight when consumed.
The crabs have two types of meat in them, namely white meat, predominantly found in male crabs, and brown meat, predominantly found in female crabs. Although white meat is pale in taste as its color, brown meat is considered superior in taste with more intense tastes.
Crabs are rich in protein and carbohydrates. They contain 34 g of protein and 46 g of carbohydrates. In addition to this, they also contain fat, sodium, and cholesterol.
How Long Do You Boil Crab (And Why)?
| Steps in the Cooking Process | Cooking Timeline |
| Bringing water to a boil | 5 to 10 minutes |
| Boiling the Crabs | 10 to 15 minutes |
| Cooling down the Crabs | 5 minutes |
| Removing meat from the Crabs | 5 to 10 minutes |
Boiling water is the first step in the cooking process. One has to take double the number of Crabs in a pot and boil it after putting in a spoon of salt to it. The water takes about 5 to 10 minutes on average to come to a boil.
The next significant step in the process is to put the crabs in the boiling water, once the water simmers. According to various cooks, a kilogram of crab can be ready within 10 to 15 minutes. However, the color of the crabs would serve as a good indication of when they will get cooked. Their color changes to bright red on being cooked.
Once the crabs have been cooked, they should be allowed to cool after being drained. The cook should leave the crabs in this condition for 4 to 5 minutes.
Once the crabs are cooled down, their meat has to be taken out. This step may be a little messy for amateur chefs and so, they can opt to plate the crabs without removing the meat. This step can take about 5 to 10 minutes depending upon the experience of the chefs. The temperature of the overall atmosphere also plays an important role in determining the time.
Why It Takes So Long To Boil Crabs?
The time taken by the crabs to boil and be edible depends on a multitude of factors. These include the flame of the burner, the quality of crabs, and the experience of the chefs. The time needed to boil crabs is a byproduct of these factors.
The strength of the blame for the burner is an instrumental factor in this process. If the water is boiled on a low flame, it would take more time as compared to water boiled on a high flame. The more the strength of the flame, the less time will be required in cooking the crabs.
The quality of the crabs purchased is also a factor of concern in this regard. Good-quality crabs cook up faster and without any problem. However, bad-quality crabs purchased without good inspection may take more time to get cooked.
Once the crabs have been boiled, they need a certain amount of time to get cooked. This is necessary as boiled crabs would be very hot and dangerous for the cook to operate on. However, this becomes easy for the cook once the crabs cool down.
The experience of the chef cooking the crabs is also a factor that impacts its cooking time. The experienced chefs are not contained by the time constraints, rather they can say when the crabs are cooked or not in a look. Moreover, they take quite less time in removing the meat from the crabs.
Conclusion
Crabs are a light snack perfect for having as snacks. They are rich in nutrients and can be prepared within half an hour. There are several dishes including cakes and salads.
Cooking of Crabs by boiling them is an easy and hassle-free method of preparing them. It takes very less time and requires no rocket science as it can be cooked with the minimum of efforts. Moreover, boiling these seafood requires not much utensils or appliances like microwave or oven.
