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Current Shareware 1994 January
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SHAR194.ISO
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seafoods.zip
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SHELCLEN
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1993-01-04
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Cleaning and Shucking Shellfish
Several forms of shellfish, including such favorites
as crabs, scallops, lobsters, shrimp, and periwinkles may
be purchased live in the shell. They will need to be
cleaned or shucked. In most cases the only tool you'll
need is a knife or kitchen shears. To clean crabs, the
first step is to turn the crab upside down and grasp the
legs on one side with one hand. With your other hand, lift
the flap and pull back and down to remove the top shell.
Now turn the crab right side up and remove the intestines
and gills. Pull the claws and legs off and remove any meat
that clings to the claws. Remove the meat from the top of
the inner skeleton with your knife. Remove the meat on the
back of the crab with a slicing, digging motion of your
knife. You can remove the meat from any pockets with the
point of your knife. Finally, crack the claw shell and
remove the meat there.
To shuck oysters, you will need an oyster knife and a
pair of gloves. An oyster knife has a strong wedge-shaped
blade that is designed to withstand the force necessary to
open oysters. The first step is to rinse the oyster. Then
grasp the oyster with one hand, holding the hinged side
toward your other hand. Look for the small crevice that is
situated at the hinge. Slip the oyster knife into this
crevice and twist, cutting the hinge. After the hinge is
broken, slide the knife along the shell and sever the
abductor muscle. Now remove the top shell. Carefully slip
the knife under the oyster and cut the muscle from the
bottom shell. Clean away any shell particles or other
debris. For very large oysters it may be necessary first
to break the thin end of the shell with a hammer to make an
opening for the knife. After this is done, follow the
previous procedure.
To shuck a scallop, grasp it so that the shell's hinge
rest against your palm. Slip a thin, strong knife inside
the shell near the hinge and twist. Be careful not to
force the shell open, for this will tear the muscle. Lift
the top side of the shell and cut the muscle from the top
shell. After removing the top shell, clean out the viscera
by gripping the scallop between your thumb and knife blade
and pulling. Everything but the edible white scallop meat
should be removed. Cut the muscle from the remaining shell
and wash the meat in cold water.
To clean boiled lobster or prepare green lobster for
baking use the following instructions. First, lay the
lobster on its back. Using a sharp knife, cut the lobster
in half lengthwise. Next remove the stomach, being sure to
also remove the intestinal vein which runs from the stomach
to the tail. Clean the body cavity thoroughly by rinsing
with cold water. The green lobster is now ready for
baking. If the lobster is boiled and you need to remove the
meat from the shell, take a sharp knife and loosen the meat
from the edges of the shell. Use a fork to get hold of the
meat at the tail, then remove it by lifting upward and
pulling the meat toward the head, away from the shell.
To clean shrimp for simmering, hold the tail section
in one hand while positioning the swimmerettes down toward
the palm of your hand. Insert one blade of kitchen shears
into the sand vein opening, and cut through the shell along
the outer curve to the end of the tail. Remove the meat by
pulling the sides of the shell apart. Clean thoroughly in
cold water.
Cleaning shrimp for broiling is a slightly different
process. First, place the shrimp on a cutting board with
the swimmerettes exposed. Using a sharp knife, cut between
the swimmerettes through the meat to the shell. Spread the
shell until it lies flat, and wash thoroughly in cold
water.
To remove the meat of periwinkles, steam or boil them
in salted water until they begin to emerge from their
shells. Now, with a lobster pick or similar, pointed
object, pry out the meat. Their operculum, the clear trap
door, is not edible and if it did not fall off during
steaming, should be removed. The periwinkles may be eaten
right after boiling.