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#18
May 1st, 2004
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Hi,
Cingene, santolas are spider crabs!!  Spider Crabs are probably my favorite crustacean to eat along with slipper lobsters (cavacos e bruxas). But they have a problem though; they are only good if they are “full”, almost ready to change shell. If you cook one that is “empty” or that has changed shell recently it will be disgusting. How to tell them apart is the tricky part. Empty ones are field with “water” that they absorbed after changing shell. I find almost impossible to differentiate them by weight. The best way to tell them apart is to look at their leg “claws”, packed ones will have the “claws” wearied out, while one empty ones will be needle sharp. Another trick is to look at the leg joints; you can see more meat in the leg joints of “full” ones. Also the strength of the creature will give you an idea of its condition; Empty ones are really weak. We usually just boil them, crack the legs and eat the meat that’s inside, there are special tools to crack them, but a hammer will do!  With the “head” content we make a “sauce” with mayonnaise, pickles, boiled eggs and other stuff that I can remember now. Cheers, Rui Santos
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Rui 
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