Fresh Brown Crab



Edible Crab

Shell removed showing gills




Dressed Crab

Cock Crab Underbelly

I bought this beautiful freshly boiled Brown Crab (Cancer pagurus) from the Good Fish Shop in Haslemere.  Being a cock (male) crab it has larger claws than a hen which results in more of the delicately flavoured white meat.  Apart from large claws you can identify the male by the narrower triangular shaped flap on the abdomen which on the female is much wider. To prepare your crab, place it 'nose' down on a chopping board and give it a good thump.  The shell should separate from the legs and main body. Prise the shell off and expose the inside which includes the 'dead mans fingers'.  These are in fact the gills and contrary to popular belief, are not deadly poisonous.  However, they have an unpleasant flavour and can harbour bacteria so should be removed. Also press out the mouth parts which should remove the stomach at the same time. Then scoop out the very tasy brown meat from inside the shell and the flaky white meat from inside the body cavities.  This is best performed with a 'pick' or small fork. Finally crack the claws with a mallet or rolling pin and ease out the claw meat.  Layer the brown, white and claw meat in the original top shell.

Kippers for Breakfast

We recently stayed at the Hotel du Vin in Bristol and enjoyed a very pleasant meal in the brasserie on Saturday evening.  The menu was interesting; I had the cod fillet with seared scallops and pepperonata as a main course.  The cod fillet was nice and thick and not overcooked giving delicate flakes of cod which slid away on the knife.  There are a number of sustainable sources for Atlantic Cod (Gadus morhua) including Iceland, NE Arctic and Celtic Sea.

The varied breakfast menu offered grilled kippers which I chose.  In fact when it arrived it was a pair of kipper fillets which were nicely presented with melted butter.  I added a couple of poached eggs for good measure.

When cooking a whole kipper at home I favour the method of cooking a kipper in a jug of hot water.  Just place the kipper, head down, into a tall jug filled with boiling water straight from the kettle.  Put a tea towel over the top and leave for 15 minutes.  Remove the kipper and serve with a knob of butter.  This provides a lightly cooked kipper without filling the house with cooking smells.