Crab legs are a delicacy enjoyed by many seafood lovers. However, accessing the meat within the crab legs is not an easy task. Cutting through the hard shell that protects the crab from the elements requires a heavy-duty knife and a lot of patience. The hard shell cannot be broken by hand without a little help of a cracking tool or without the hard shell being precut.

Remove the body cluster from the body end of the crab leg using a meat cleaver or other heavy-duty knife. Cut off any bits of cartilage that may be clinging to the meat underneath the body cluster.

Divide each leg into 3 inch segments. The contents of each segment does not matter. You do not need to make the cuts at the joints.

Remove the tapering tips and throw them away.

Use a pair of kitchen shears to cut the white part of the shell away from the crab meat inside. Remove the white part and keep the red part of the shell. This creates a cradle to hold the crab meat while it cooks.

Remove any cartilage that runs through the legs. The cartilage is too tough to eat and is more easily removed prior to cooking.