What to do with a whole crab?

HappyIdiotTalk

Maxjessdru wrote:

I bought one last week and used it! Bought another two this week. I searched bbc online for crab and found instructions on how to "get into it!" Basically involves pulling legs off, turning over, removing various bits and breaking into the shell. I would recommend you look this up as not very easy to explain! I also found a recipe from BBC online for Crab and Lobster linguine which uses tinned lobster bisque to make up the sauce. Very nice indeed!

Superb! I'm defintely going to hunt down the crab and lobster linguine recipe. I love crab, I think I'd love lobster (never tried it) and I never get tired of eating pasta so this one sounds ideal to me. Cheers!

Mr_Proctalgia

I to am interested in the answers to this thread but as a word of caution my local LIDL is selling two types of Crab, the aforementioned precooked Irish Crabs and also Raw frozen Velvet crabs, they look rather small and erm....different so do check what you are buying. I do know how to break into the things but have no idea which bits are edible, some childhood memory about "Dead mans fingers" come to mind.

HappyIdiotTalk

Mr_Proctalgia wrote:

I to am interested in the answers to this thread but as a word of caution my local LIDL is selling two types of Crab, the aforementioned precooked Irish Crabs and also Raw frozen Velvet crabs, they look rather small and erm....different so do check what you are buying. I do know how to break into the things but have no idea which bits are edible, some childhood memory about "Dead mans fingers" come to mind.

Yeah they had the velvet ones at mine too. But I opted for the big one as it looked like less painstaking work!

mirakl

bought the velvet ones. BIG MISTAKE! Teeny tiny, impossible to get the meat off, we ended up thorwing half of them out in frustration.

Dead mans fingers are really obvious, they're feathery fingers that go accross the crab when you break inside it. They're not poisonious but they taste terrible. I have had it likened to me "imagine trying to eat feathers".

malamala

Wish I could go to Lidl to get some as I love crabs.

I'd even try velvet crab.

It's strange that UK is an island but we don't get much varieties in seafood, it's always the same old same old. Many fresh seafood are exported instead.

MrsTinks

MMMMM crab!

I remember many years ago going out before dawn with a friend and her grandad on the norwegian fjords to check the crab pots. Then rowing back and handing over our haul to her mum who threw them still alive into a BIG pot of boiling water... Then it was nutcracker and dessert fork time!
If you can then Costco do bags of crab claws which is great fun and taste lovelly (must have plenty of nutcrackers).

As for preparing them otherwise... After cooking them remove legs and claws, "pop" off the belly shield (I'm sure there is a funky technical terms for this) and scoop out the stomach and gills. Once it's open I find it pretty obvioius which bits were it's "innards" and I just throw them. Then you have the brown meat. You can scoop this out and then you just pick a recipe

I once took all the meat (white and brown) and mashed it with a fork, some cream and some gruiliere (or how ever you spell that) and forked it back in the cleaned shell. Stick in the oven for a bit with some grated cheese on top and finely chopped parsley.

arkonite_babe

Nice to find this thread, I bought a brown crab in Lidl today and then thought "what the heck do I do with it now???"

Currently it's defrosting in the kitchen so I will trot off and read BBC food for some inspiration

JonBiel

Just copied Talywern's answer to a similar question
theanswerbank.co.uk/Food-and-Drink/Recipes/Question376257.html
there are some other links there too.

velvet crabs can be made into a delicious crab bisque. Most caught off the coast of Ireland end up in Europe. You can get them frozen in Lidl. This is what i do.
1 Defrost the crabs
2 open them get out the grey dead mens fingers like you do with the big boys
3 smash them up and put them in a saucepan
4 add 2 chopped carrots , 2 chopped sticks of celery, 1 lge chopped onion, 2 smashes garlic cloves, handful of parsley, a few turns of ground pepper
5 a large glass dry white wine add to pot
6 a tin of tomatoes and 2 tbspns of tom puree
7 pour on 75cc of water and a good slug of knorr touch of taste fish stock concentrate 9I find this the best to use
8 you can add an anchovy or two or a dollop of anchovy essence.
9 bring the pot to the boil, then simmer for an hour gently
10 pound the contents in the pot or put into a liquidizer if its a strong one
11 strain, reheat, taste reduce to concentrate the flavour if you need
12 serve with swirls of cream and good crusty bread

you could add brandy at the reheat stage if you want to but its not necessary
Enjoy!!!!!

PasturesNew

My favourite way to eat crab is to crack open those legs and eat the crab meat straight out of the leg casing. mmmm ... not done that for about 30 years.

PasturesNew

Don't forget - there's bound to be a youtube video showing you how to take them apart and poke about getting the nasty bit out of the inside of the body.