Crab toast
Picking whole crab irritates many people’s skin so use a pair of food-safe gloves.
SERVES
2
PEOPLE
PREP TIME
10
MINUTES
COOKING TIME
10
MINUTES
Ingredients
75g unsalted butter
1 garlic clove, minced
¼ tsp cayenne pepper powder
¼ tsp black pepper
1 lemon, juice and zest
1 small bunch parsley, chopped
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 thick cut slices of sourdough
200g packet of picked crab meat or 1kg brown crab
Method
To cook a whole crab, set up a steamer or bring a large pot of salted water to the boil.
Dispatch the crab by turning it over and pulling back the flap, where you’ll find a small hole. Place a strong knife at this point and force it through until you hit the other side of the shell.
Steam the crab for 10-12 minutes, and then plunge it into ice water for 30 seconds to stop the cooking. Remove it right after and allow to finish cooling.
Once cooled, break off the claws and legs. Break off the tail flap and press firmly upwards on the body section to remove. Cut the body section in half and use a crab pick to remove the white meat in the crevices.
Discard the gills (known as dead man’s fingers). Scoop out the brown meat and set aside. Using the back of a large knife, crack the claws to pick the meat, being careful to remove any shell fragments.
For the crab topping, heat the butter in a medium sized pan on low heat.
Add the minced garlic, cayenne and black pepper. Cook for 1-2 minutes to soften the harshness of the garlic.
Then add your crab to the pan. If using the whole crab add the brown crab meat you’ve picked first and warm it gently for a minute, before adding the white meat to the pan to warm through.
Add the Worcestershire sauce and finish with the chopped parsley, lemon juice and zest.
Season with sea salt and serve on top of slices of toasted sourdough bread.
