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Seafood Scissors

Do seafood scissors live up to their promise in making it easier to cut through hard shells?

Published July 1, 2014. Appears in America's Test Kitchen TV Season 21: Salmon Steaks Done Right

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What You Need To Know

Kitchen shears are ideal for butterflying chicken and snipping herbs but not so great for thick, curvy seafood shells. When we’re cooking lobster, crab, or shrimp, we reach for seafood scissors, designed with small, curved blades that snip open shells without marring the seafood within. Our previously winning pair was recently redesigned, so we bought the updated version plus four new products, priced from about $7 to $15, and snipped our way through pounds of shellfish.

Sadly, the redesigned pair was a bust. While it had excellent blades, the new, smaller handles cramped even the most petite hands. Of the remaining models, two had either comfortable handles or strong, sharp blades—but not both. The final two contenders fared better, but one model was the clear winner. These scissors had comfortable, sturdy handles and strong, sharp blades that snipped through tough lobster claws and delicate shrimp shells with ease, leaving the meat within pristine and ready for plucking.

Everything We Tested

Good : 3 stars out of 3.Fair : 2 stars out of 3.Poor : 1 stars out of 3.
*All products reviewed by America’s Test Kitchen are independently chosen, researched, and reviewed by our editors. We buy products for testing at retail locations and do not accept unsolicited samples for testing. We list suggested sources for recommended products as a convenience to our readers but do not endorse specific retailers. When you choose to purchase our editorial recommendations from the links we provide, we may earn an affiliate commission. Prices are subject to change.
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Reviews you can trust

Reviews you can trust

The mission of America’s Test Kitchen Reviews is to find the best equipment and ingredients for the home cook through rigorous, hands-on testing. We stand behind our winners so much that we even put our seal of approval on them.

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