How to clean crayfish - the main rules

Any boy who has spent his childhood in a village on the river bank probably knows how to clean crayfish. Residents of large cities face this delicacy less often: at a picnic, some or in a pub. But this useful skill certainly will not hurt anyone.

Main Features

Those who have not experienced the procedure, it sometimes seems simply overwhelming. After all, in the cinema we often see strange cutlery, more like tools of torture: tongs, needles, hooks. In fact, they are not designed for cancers, but for their relatives, which have large dimensions and a much stronger chitinous cover. With the help of such tools, lobsters, lobsters, crabs are eaten. But the process of cleaning crayfish requires some knowledge and skills. It's not that complicated, it's only necessary to understand the principle once.

Preliminary stage: washing

In a quiet whirlpool are found ... crayfish! The muddy bottom, burrows, snags, thickets of coastal vegetation are their favorite places. Cancers are characterized by a peculiar way of movement. They have several pairs of limbs and a plate covered with a tail. Therefore, it is not surprising that before cleaning crayfish, they need to be thoroughly rinsed. If you have access to running water, it will be easier for you. First send the crayfish to the tub, fill them. Forget about them for an hour. They will crawl through each other, trying to get out. During this fuss, some of the sand will be washed. Purified during these procedures and intestines.

But with shells will have to tinker. It is good, if there is an opportunity to arrange cancers of souls, watering them under high pressure. If this is not possible, fill them with liquid in a container. Then mix with your hands, drain and pour again until the water becomes clear. An important rule is that if dead animals come up during these bath procedures, catch them and discard them. You can cook only live crawfish.

Then all the same it is necessary to give time to everyone. You can clean the cancer with a conventional toothbrush. Rinse your abdomen under running water. In nature, where there is no hose or tap, the procedure will take longer. You can use water from the same pond where the crayfish were caught.

Heat treatment

Every hunter of crayfish certainly knows his way of cooking. Someone argues that there is nothing better than salted boiling water, in which of the spices is added except perhaps the bay leaf. And someone dearer recipes with an abundance of seasonings and greens. As soon as this river delicacy is cooked! Bake on the grill, stew in beer and milk, cook in broth ... But all experts agree on how to properly clean crayfish: hands and always after cooking, and not in raw form.

Cleaning Procedure

By and large, there is no law that would strictly regulate how to clean crayfish. Everyone acts as he likes. Therefore, we can offer only some recommendations:

1. Tear off the tail cancer. It's easy to do with your hands. Pull the caudal fin, the chitinous cover will fall apart, allowing you to reach the tender white meat. At the tail of it quite a lot.
2. Turn the cancer on the back. Dilute the cephalothorax plates to the sides. If you disassemble the cancer neatly, the intestines and internal organs will not get injured.
3. Separate the claws. They can simply chew by sucking juicy meat. Very delicious and front legs, of which grow claws. Chitin on this place is not too thick. It can be easily opened.
4. A little meat is in the legs. Many prefer them as a snack to beer. Disassemble chitin tubes is not an easy task. Therefore, they too simply chew.
5. Separate the head, scrape the meat off the inside surface of the chitin cover.
6. The inner surface of the shell is covered with a peculiar mass. It can be white or yellowish. It's fat, healthy and tasty.

Before you clean the boiled crawfish, let them at least cool down a little. The shell will feel warm to the touch, but the juice drizzled from the inside can burn badly.

Alternative methods

Some beer restaurants offer guests an unusual treat from river animals, cutting them in half along and baking halves on the grill. In that case, there is no question of how to cleanse the cancer. The photo allows you to make sure that you can simply eat them with hands or small cutlery, sorting into pieces.

Serving dishes, rules of consumption

Cooked crabs do not belong to a high kitchen. This dainty is suitable for a relaxed atmosphere in a close family or friendly circle. Often they become the main event of feasting in nature. All this contributes to the fact that the rules of etiquette concerning the supply and consumption of cancers are very democratic. Usually they are presented in a wide dish, and laid out by hand on plates. In order to clean and eat cancer, no cutlery is needed. Unless in catch there will be some very large specimens with massive claws. Probably, for their opening it is necessary to use forceps.

Together with crayfish, a sliced lemon is often served. It is worth saying that the tradition of serving seafood, red fish and crustaceans with sour citrus has an ambiguous history. The best chefs consider that lemon or lime destroys the delicate taste of the main product. And it is necessary only for rubbing fingers to remove a specific smell. But someone likes acid, which emphasizes the expressive taste of crayfish. Therefore, in the company of the mountain of boiled river inhabitants, it is often possible to find bright yellow citrus circles. They will be useful also for those who know how to clean crayfish, but do not like them when their hands smell. It will suit both the taste, and the fragrance, and the fresh green color. Especially good with crayfish dill.