Catching Spider Crabs

[foxfish]

Not sure about that but the freezer idea is based around slowing the creatures metabolism right down but not actually killing the creature. However I have found this is a bad method because the very cold crab takes the water straight off the boil & seems to awake the crab not kill it!!!
Like I said, you need plenty of water on a good rolling boil, add some sea salt, drop the "room temperature" crab in a shut the lid! I dont actually enjoy boiling crabs but I think it is the best way to go.

 

[Padaxes]

Way I understood it is if you stick a crab/lobster in the freezer it slows down, goes to sleep then dies. You could then defrost it before the boiling part.

 

[johnnybuoy]

boil them alive. they die instantly and its the tastiest method. i know a few people who have gotton sick from boiling dead crab so ive never tried it. think of it as a jaccuzi for crabs........:t

 

[Tong]

I cooked my first hand caught spider crab the other day, i put him in fresh water for 10mins first.

he was delicious, i think someone had got to him before me though because he only had 1 claw.

 

[scottie3030]

cheers people also whats the best way to keep them alive once out the water? and long will they last? also not a crab question ,how do you keep mussels? do you freeze them before cooking or after and how do you know there alright once defrosted?

 

[Padaxes]

Well I've found some cracking Spider Crab recipies on the net, seems like all the trendy chefs swear by them (Rick Stein et al) so I`m quite excited about grabbing a few big ones on my next trip to spidey heaven. 1st up is crab cakes I think

S4C - DUDLEY - SPIDER CRAB FISH CAKES

then

UKTV Food: Recipes: Dressed spider crab with sweet pear mustard

mmmmm

 

[johnnybuoy]

caught these bad boys today and they tasted goooooooooooood.

 

[SurfnSpear]

My daughter is in training now...rofl

 

[Padaxes]

Brave Girl! lol or brave father ?!

Baldyfish, they look a decent size, I havn't seen many that big I don't think, how deep were they ?

 

[johnnybuoy]

picked them out of about 4-5m. donnachad and myself went spearing but the vis was 1-2m so we collected crab instead. caught a load of decent sized brown(sand) crab too.

 

[agbiv]

Dial soap in the mouth for all retrograde porn jumpers!!! :naughty Anyway the crackling you hear is shrimp or small prawns snapping. Off of Texas you out to hear the Black Drum, Red Drum (Redfish), grunts & croaker making noise too! rofl

 

[agbiv]

Freezing mussels & crab for that matter...mussels blanch in salted boiling water 4-5 minutes. Remove allow to cool to temp or drench in ice water. PLace in zipper freeze bag w/ some of the liquid (makes good stock too!). Press out most of the air, lay flat & freeze. Oh yeah label the bag with sharpie BEFORE putting product in. Mussel that don't close are "gappers" & DO NOT EAT! Could be deaders or on the way out & might have toxins. Crab same procedure. You can shell & then freeze, clean out mouth parts, gills & innards (OOKIE) and freeze in Heavy bags w/o water. Chef Al :friday

 

[Padaxes]

I cooked my first one the other day, decided to just boil it and it certainly did taste good. Hell of an effort getting all the meat out though!

 

[johnnybuoy]

if there cooked properly the meat should come away from the shell very easily. otherwise it has either shed its shell recently or is about to.
my genral rule of thumb is loads of salt(1/5th of a container) and boil enough watr to cover the crab.
when its really boiling drop the crab inand cover it. time 10 minutes from when it starts to boil again.
when you take it out make sure you run cold water over it for a few minutes or it will keep cooking and the meat sticks to the shell.
when eating, take a leg and bend it at the joint the opposite way it sould go until it cracks and just pull apart. if its cooked properly and if you do it right the meat should all come out in one sausage.
hope this helps.
anybody know if crab is in-edible if you cook it dead???:naughty

 

[agbiv]

Best & safest is to cook live as described. A little lemon juice or apple cider vinegar in water helps shell release too (shrimp as well). One CAN kill clean & immidiately ice/freeze crab but must remain @ or near 32' F to reduce/eliminate bacterial growth. Still cooking live THEN cleaning & freezing is safest. Chef Al

 

[johnnybuoy]

chers chef. ill mail you on a piece when ive cooked itrofl. sounds good with the cider!!

 

[Den]

Careful with the claw removal, I was discussing this very option recently with a fisheries researcher who, while accepting that they will drop claws if threatened (Ive never had one drop a claw when caught however) says they grow back very slowly. He also said selling claws removed from live crabs carries a fine of up to £5000. But didn't know how you stood collecting them for yourself. That said, plenty people do!

 

[johnnybuoy]

never even heard of that happening to be honest. used to make lizards shed their tales when i was in israel thoughroflI never claw a crab, jus take the whole lot as its more humane. ill look out for he shedding of claws but even ifi had a bag of crab in the 4x4 ithey would all be intact when i get home.
im thinking it may be a myth:t

 

[agbiv]

In the Gulf of Mexico we take the large claw of Stone Crabs & ice immediately. Blue claw crab will drop a claw sometimes & if I find them more than 30 minutes not ice I discard. Don't need the scours for that litle bit o'meat. No comments on the last Pastor.:naughty Chef Alroflrofl

 

[kanakafari]

Here in California, I have heard them referred to as Sheep Crabs. What is the difference between Sheep Crabs and Spider Crabs? Also, what is the difference between their food worthiness? I have always heard that the Sheeps are not edible which would explain why I have yet to see anyone take one home. There are heaps of them in my local waters but I'm unsure if it's worth the trouble. Any insight would be appreciated?


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