Kyl Haselbauer has 20 years of experience working in fine-dining and modernist kitchens, including Bar Cotto and Anchovies &amp; Olives in Seattle. He is also the owner of Bright Spot, a café and coffee shop in Seattle.

Kyl Haselbauer

If you’ve eaten crab, you’ve eaten crab shell. It’s not pleasant!So how do restaurants and seafood counters churn out crab cakes, crab rolls, and crab Bennies without getting tons of complaints from people about crab shells messing up their meals? Easy: They buy shell–free crab meat picked by commercial processors. But how do the commercial processors get shells out of their crab meat?They make like a freshman with posters of Jimi on the wall: They use a black light. Shine an ultraviolet light on a tub of crab meat and any shell fragments will “glow” white, making them incredibly easy to remove. WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
A black light flashlight 
A sheet pan or other container that does not react to ultraviolet light
A dark room
Tweezers (optional)

Tips & Tricks: The Rave-Worthy Secret to Perfectly Picked Crab