Helgoländer knieper are cooked claws of the brown crab, a specialty of Helgoland, a tiny German island in the North Sea located some 70 km off the coast of Germany. This barren and rocky patch of land has been most famous for lobster fishing, but lobster has all but disappeared since World War II.

In contrast, the population of brown crabs (or edible crabs) has been steadily rising, so nowadays, this crustacean is one of the island's main exports. While still on the boat, fishermen remove the claws and use the body for bait. The claws are later cooked in seawater, a traditional method of preparing kniepers (which literally means claws).

Once done, the claws are either smashed with a hammer or a crab leg cracker, and a special seafood fork is used to scrape the meat out of the shell. Helgoländer knieper are usually paired with some fresh bread, butter, and various dips, like curry, garlic sauce, or dill and cognac.