Jani wrote:
>
> I know this is going to sound incredibly stupid, but what do you pull the
> shell off *with*? I've never cooked crab from fresh, but I've seen plenty of
> them squirming around at the fishmarket in Cardiff, and the top shell seems
> pretty firmly attached to the bottom shell. There doesn't seem to be a gap
> where I could insert the fingernails, and pull ...?

It's not stupid to be inexperienced. There is a gap between the top
shell and the rest of the beast. You just find a place to hook your
fingers, usually right near the top/front of the crab, and pull
backwards. It's much easier to demonstrate than to describe. Once
you've done it two or three times it's easy. The tricky part is to get
a good firm hold of all the claws on the left side so they can't pinch
you. I doubt that crabs feel the pain in anything akin to the way we
might but of course I can't prove that. I do know that they don't
scream the way broccoli does. -aem