How to make the most out of your muddies

Why is there no meat in my muddie?

The best place to test a male (buck) crab.

Why is there no meat in my muddie?

Ever wondered why it is that after you have cooked up a muddie you crack it open and all you get is juice and very little meat?

Unlike fish, crabs don’t grow constantly but go through moult stages where they shed their exoskeleton to allow them to increase in size.

After a moult, a crab takes time to harden the new shell and fill it with muscle (meat). If you catch a crab soon after moulting they are described as soft and empty and should be released unharmed.

Generally the carapace of a full crab will be dull and may have algae or barnacles attached; the inner teeth of the claws will also be worn.

Indicators that a crab is empty are a clean and shiny carapace and sharp, well-defined teeth on the inside of the claws.

For buck (male) crabs the best way to test is to press your thumbs against the abdominal plates on the underside of the crab adjacent to the second walking legs. If this causes an inward flex on both plates the crab is not full.

The best place to test a male (buck) crab.

To check if a jenny is full you can apply pressure with your thumbs to either side of the carapace.

The shell of a crab that is not full will flex a few millimetres in these areas when pressure is applied and may even make a clicking sound. If the shell flexes at all, the crab is not full.

Please make sure that your crabs are firmly tied or restrained before handling them.

For more info check out the NT Fisheries website.