Cleaning mud crabs

[fisho]

My mates and I love a muddie but our girlfriends / wives don't appreciate the smell / mess associated with cleaning the crabs at home. We have discussed the idea of cleaning the crabs at the river bank when pulling up the boat however I have an idea that it is illegal to remove and throw away the carapace until you get home. If so, would it be ok to clean out the crabs on the bank, keeping the clean carapace of each one? Can someone assist me with this query?

p.s. crabs are kept in an esky full of ice prior to cleaning so they are 'asleep' when their time comes

[Luke]

Not sure about that Fisho. Sometimes on the bank we'll have a little fire going and throw them under the hot coals. I reckon they taste great barbecued but I'm not sure that you can't throw the leftovers back??
Cheers Luke

[Heath]

If you are that worried about cleaning the crabs at home, do it under the garden hose. Simple, no fuss & you just wash the leftovers down the drain.

[Volvo]

Fisho, what i do is after i get the crabs home i put em in the freezer for awhile ta put em to sleep.
Pull em out , undoe the string,turn crab upside down and grab hold of their flipper and rip the shell(carapace) away from the body.
Best done round the back under the garden tap.Then you can break the two sides apart and wash away any mess .
Crab is left nice n clean ta go in the cookpot requiring a little less time for cooking.
Hardly ever cook me crabs whole anymore ey, then you can please yourself if ya wanna throw the scraps in the freezer till the rubish man comes around or go toss em away straight off .
Cheers

[aquarius]

Volvo how many minutes would you say the muddies are in the cooking pot for?........Don't they taste watery cooked this way?.....do you cook them in sea water or just add salt to the fresh?
I have always cooked them whole for about 15 to 20 minutes but would like to give your method a go.
cheers Brent
ps ..do you cook sandies the same way?

[Volvo]

G'day brent, No mate dont taste watery at all. I give em about 15 minutes after water has come to the boil and when i take em out , as usual have some fresh water with heaps of ice ta cool em down.
Add me own salt to the water as a little far for me to be carting water, and yes agree better if you have salt water they come outa ta cook in.
Used ta cook whole but unless away camping and feeding on muddies wouldnt cook whole again as like previous mentioned "Too much of a mess".
Missus dont complain too much Lol, but the smell does get a little annoyin after awhile.
Think im gettin a bit spoilt lol.
Cheers

[Gazza]

My mates and I love a muddie but our girlfriends / wives don't appreciate the smell / mess associated with cleaning the crabs at home. We have discussed the idea of cleaning the crabs at the river bank when pulling up the boat however I have an idea that it is illegal to remove and throw away the carapace until you get home. If so, would it be ok to clean out the crabs on the bank, keeping the clean carapace of each one? Can someone assist me with this query?

p.s. crabs are kept in an esky full of ice prior to cleaning so they are 'asleep' when their time comes

Hi Fisho , I think you are right about removing the shell, as it may be a jenny,etc (I know dead easy to tell ,but if you have a heap of 1/2 's ,could be sus? in size,etc).
Main thing is to remove the 'lungs' at the side with caution to not taint the meat by any juice.

Personally ,I take 'em home ,cook whole ,and use the in-sink garbage disposal to flush the crap and shells.
p.s. I love that 'cooking smell' , and the wife and kids just KNOW there's a treat in store ,and the FLIES!!! ,well ,they just have to line-up at the flyscreen , and look on with envy

Orrrrrrr sheesh , my mouth is watering!!!!!!! and not a crab in sight

Regards
Gazza