Kindly preparation before death???

[susandennis]

On the front of today's Life & Arts section is a whole thing about Crabbing - buying, cooking and eating crab... a little sidebar titled Crab 101 covers buying, boiling and cleaning.

BASIC BOILING: Put crab into the freezer about 15 minutes before cooking to dull its senses. Bring a large pot of water to boil. You can salt it generously or not. Gently drop crab into water head first. Let it come back to a boil and then lower the heat to medium-high and let it bubble. Cook for 15 to 18 minutes, depending on the size of the crab.

My buddy Matt was reading over my shoulder and says 'WHY does it need its senses dulled? To be nice?'

I have no idea.

Comments

[machupicchu.livejournal.com]

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Crabs have no central nervous system, which means they can't feel pain. Thus, I have no idea what the point of "dulling its senses" would be -- since there would not be a whole lot of senses to dull in the first place.
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[holyoutlaw.livejournal.com]

My SWAG (simple wild-ass guess) is that if it weren't chilled, it would rattle and clang around the pot. Crabs are cold-blooded aren't they?

[rsc.livejournal.com]

Maybe so it won't try to nip you with its claws while you're transferring it to the pot.

[katbyte.livejournal.com]

No way in Hell am I using any recipe that starts off with anything about dulling senses. Just can't do it, no way, no how. (Side Bar: I hate crab)