• Lobster
• Crab
• Shrimp
• Crayfish

Lobsters live on both US coasts, although the Maine variety are perhaps the best known of the American species. Their flesh tastes richer than crab, and can be savored boiled with butter and lemon, in a sweet seafood bisque, as part of a stuffing, or in any number or equally satisfying concoctions. 

In the water (their native, salty waters, that is) lobster shells look bluish brownish green, but boiled they turn a vivid coral color that tinges their whitish flesh.

Cooking:

Contrary to popular belief, lobsters do not scream as they are being boiled. Occasionally, a slight whistle can be heard when lobsters are placed in boiling water.But this is no cry of pain, it is the sound of their shells contracting. 

If the cooking process disturbs you, the Societyfor the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals recommends that you: 

• Place the live lobster in a pot of cold water. 
• Gradually turn up the heat until the water reaches a tepid 104 degrees.
• This will stun the lobster into a stupor without cooking it, and it will die painlessly 

Extracting the meat: The tail and claws contain some of the richest, most flavorful meat on the lobster, and you'll need that nut pick or paring knife to dig deep and find every last morsel!

The tail in particular holds some prized lobster flesh, and can be prepared in a number of equally appetizing ways. 

• Use your kitchen scissors to cut through the tough underside of the shell, and the meat will fall out easily. This is a good method if you intend to cut the tail meat into medallions, or to dice or slice it for stuffing. Just cut it up and blend with other ingredients to form a light and delicious stuffing or sauce.
• Remove the tail vein by making a neat incision alongside it and pulling it out.
• If you will be "butterflying" the lobster tail and hence need the lower shell to remain intact, cut through the top shell, bisect the tail meat with your knife, and then remove the vein.
• A "piggyback" lobster tail requires that you cut away the top portion of the shell onto to the fan, remove the meat in one long piece, clean and devein it, and then rest it back in its shell for broiling. 

1. Twist them to free from the body of the lobster.
2. Pull the "thumb" like appendage from the claw.
3. Since you'll want to keep the claw meat in its intact shape, use the blunt edge of your chef's knife to carefully tap against the side of the claw; with any luck at all, this will dislodge the claw meat cleanly.
4. To get at the meat in the legs, again use that blunt edge to crack them open, and then pluck it out with your nut pick. 

1. Lay it flat on its back.
2. Use your sharp chef's knife, to make a slit from tail to head, paying attention not to rupture the lobster's back shell.
3. Reach in with your fingers to scoop out its "sand sac" (from the head), "tomalley" (its liver, which looks like a greenish gray mound), and "coral" (eggs)*.
4. Form a stuffing cavity by stretching apart the two halves of the lobster, rinse it out and pat dry.
5. Before baking the lobster, gently crack its claws so that their meat will be

accessible but their attractive form remains intact.
6. Your lobster is ready to receive whatever stuffing you've prepared for it.

Crab

The habitat and lifestyle of the many species of North American crabs influence where the meat tends to be heaviest on their bodies, and their flavor and richness.

The Dungeness crab of the Pacific Northwest, for instance, scuttle on the sandy ocean floor most of their days, and so their legs are their best defined (and meatiest) feature. By contrast, Maryland blue crabs are a fine swimming lot, and so their buoyant bodies and kicking joints contain a good bit of meat. The Alaskan king crab have almost no meat in their diminutive bodies, although their long, powerful walking claws and legs are filled with delectable meat.

Generally, crab are cleaned after they are cooked, and they are usually cooked whole, intact, with the one exception being the soft-shelled species.

Most chefs agree that the crab's cousin, the lobster, should be cooked immediately after being killed. The picture is less clear for crab. Some say to cook them live as well; others allow some time and discretion between death and cooking. As always, with fresh seafood, crab should never await preparation for more than a few hours.

You can refrigerate live crabs, which stuns but does not kill them.

Cooking:

• Always approach crabs from the back and with a kitchen towel in hand.
• Pin their pinchers against the sides of their bodies to prevent injuries.
• Then, either smack the crab against a firm surface like a cutting board or table top to stun it into submission, or dunk it straight away into a pot of boiling water. 

Preparing:

Extracting the meat:

1. Grab hold of the top shell (keep a kitchen towel in hand for the best possible grip and leverage), and remove it to get at the honeycomb-like sections in the body of the crab.
2. Flip the crab over and pry off its "apron," the softish triangle on the belly of the crab's shell; this should reveal its spines, which you should also extract.
3. Pull off the crab's "dead man's fingers" (two soft, white, gill-like appendages near its face).
4. Reach one finger into its mouth and scoop out and throw away the contents.
5. Inside the body, you'll notice (if you're lucky), a golden glob - the crab's viscera - also known as "crab butter." This is considered a delicacy. Scrape it off the crab meat and spread it onto crackers to savor.
6. Clean out the crab's body so that all that remains visible is its white flesh.
7. Rinse well under cold running water.
8. Snap the body in half and use your nut pick to get at the meat. Be careful to probe the body and get every segment.
9. The crab's claws contain some of its tastiest meat. Snap them off the body and use the blunt edge of your chef's knife to crack the sides of the claws. You should be able to pluck out the meat with your nut pick.

Preparing:

Peeling (cooked or raw shrimp):

• Hold the shrimp's back and pinch the row of tiny legs between your thumb and forefinger, and try to pull them all off in one decisive, assertive motion.
• Once the legs are out of the way, the shell should unwrap nicely from the shrimp's body.
• Shrimp with the "fan" of their tails in place appear elegant. So, unless your shrimp is intended for a larger dish, you may want to consider this aesthetic choice.
• If you want to devein the shrimp, which many people consider unnecessary, just make a slit down either side of the vein running the length of the shrimp's back, and pull it out, or rinse it out under cold running water. 

If you've been lucky enough to buy or catch crayfish (otherwise known as crawfish or crawdads) from Louisiana or the West Coast, you're in for a mighty treat. West Coast crawfish tend to be plumper than their Louisianan counterparts, but taste and preparation methods are similar for both.

Their bodies, unlike those of crabs and lobsters, are virtually inedible; so, devote your primary attention to the succulent meat in their large tails.

Preparing:

1. Run cold water over the crayfish to rinse out any grit.
2. Pinch the tail so that the five small flaps in its nether regions create a fan configuration.
3. Pinch the middle flap, twist and pull, and the crayfish's innards should easily pull right out.
4. Your crayfish is now ready to be cooked and enjoyed!