Camelot has Crabs crisis.

[Romantica]

Hot off the press.!!!!!
Camelot has had problems with crabs.
The family didn't know what to do with the big daddy of the crab world that they caught just off Watermouth .
I told Huw and Ange that I am sure you can get cream to deal with such things but they were adamant that the crab in question was so big it would not fit in their Steamer.
So it was returned to the deeps.
Huw has just text to say that they have just had more fishing success with an eel and 3 crabs in Swansea Marina. So the boys are obviously having fun.
He is planning to return to CYC on Saturday approx 18:00hrs. His first task is to buy a bigger steaming pot.
;)

[ishtar]

I think I may have posted these before. Louise caught it. When she surfaced with it, the two of us on the boat were terrified!

[Camelot]

Angie caught this spider crab off Lundy with her crab line.





We weren't entirely sure what type of crab it was, or how to cook it; so when phone calls home failed to give any answers I took it over to a large (50+ft) cornish trawler which had anchored a short distance away. They confirmed that it was a spider crab and that 20min in boiling water would do the job. However we couldn't fit him in any of our pans (not even the 8l pressure cooker)! Cutting his legs and claw off seemed a bit wasteful so he got a reprieve and was thrown back in.

A bigger pan is now on the shopping list!

[spidercrab]

That's a good size spidercrab. When they are in good condition, i.e. between losing their outer shell, IMO they taste better that lobster. If you put them upside down into a large enough pot of water and boil for 20 minutes, as the water gets warm the legs and claws will fold in so you may not need as big a pot as you think.

Also as they boil, it is a good idea to spoon off the scum that sometimes forms on top of the water. After 20 minutes let them cool down and drain. Then pull off the legs and arms and put to one side. They are easy to eat using a pliers/hammer/bolt cropper to split the segments and hook out the white meat. You can buy special crab meat eating forks or probes which make the job a lot easier. (The Cookshop in Cardiff stocks them).

The body needs a bit more preparation but is full of great meat. Lift up the main shell from the rear and discard. You will see a pretty disgusting mess which is mostly sh*t which can be rinsed off with running water or even sea water. In Brittany they make a mustard with the sh*t mixed with Dijon mustard and call it "La Bonne Merde". Tastes as bad as it looks.

Anyway, then remove the gray finger like things (the lungs called dead mans fingers) and discard them, then rinse the body until there is nothing but clean white bone and meat. The main internal structure is then cut down from the top, front to back and you will have 2 halves which have many chambers filled with delicious crab meat.

Bon appetit.