Velvet Crabs

[Spydaman]

Went to Lidl yesterday and bought some frozen velvet crabs but don't really know what to do with them. Any suggestions?

[Mobile Chicane]

Ooooh.

How big are they and how much?

They're used in bouillabaisse (along with a lot of other things), or you could just boil them and eat them as they are if you've an evening to kill.

[whitechief]

Currently watching Rick Stein in Cambodia on BBC2 and they just did this crab dish which looked great.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/stirfri...

Edited by whitechief on Sunday 28th March 19:18

[Spydaman]

Mobile Chicane said:

Ooooh.

How big are they and how much?

They're used in bouillabaisse (along with a lot of other things), or you could just boil them and eat them as they are if you've an evening to kill.

They are about 4" across the shell and were £3.99 for a box of 9. Not sure boullabaisse is within my capabilities but there seems to lots of deep fried recipes on the net. They are already cooked but do I need to do anything to them before eating? some say to cut the face off behind the eyes and remove the dead mans fingers (lungs)

[anonymous-user]

Are they soft or hard shell?

[Spydaman]

Not sure, they're frozen at the moment. I've got a few defrosting in the fridge so will let you know tomorrow.

[anonymous-user]

Spydaman said:

Not sure, they're frozen at the moment. I've got a few defrosting in the fridge so will let you know tomorrow.

If they are hard shell they wont be any good for deep frying but would be great for a bisque or a tai broth!

[Mobile Chicane]

Spydaman said:

Mobile Chicane said:

Ooooh.

How big are they and how much?

They're used in bouillabaisse (along with a lot of other things), or you could just boil them and eat them as they are if you've an evening to kill.

They are about 4" across the shell and were £3.99 for a box of 9. Not sure boullabaisse is within my capabilities but there seems to lots of deep fried recipes on the net. They are already cooked but do I need to do anything to them before eating? some say to cut the face off behind the eyes and remove the dead mans fingers (lungs)

A trip to Lidl beckons! Lobster I've had from there was quite salty, so I'd be inclined to defrost them in cold water.

If they're cooked just grab the legs and pull-and-twist. The 'leg bit' should come apart from the 'shell bit'. Everything inside is edible apart from the feathery looking 'dead mans fingers'. Don't forget the legs as well.

I love crab and can quite happily spend an afternoon teasing the meat out of all its little crevices.

[Kneetrembler]

We always had them fresh in Galicia to cook, we used to boil them as a normal crab, then just pull them apart and eat them, they are soo sweet

[Spydaman]

Ok, so I defrosted some of the crabs and they do have hard shells. I've never prepared a crab before but armed with Rick Steins Seafood book managed to extract a few morsels. Not bad but not really worth the effort and got bored after 3.