Serves 2
Ingredients
- 2 large live brown cock crabs (800g–1kg each)
For the mayonnaise
- 2 large egg yolks
- ½ small garlic clove, peeled
- ½ tsp Dijon mustard
- Juice of ½ lemon, plus extra if needed
- 200ml good olive oil
- 100ml sunflower oil or other light oil
- 3–4 sprigs tarragon
- Small bunch of chervil
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
To serve
- Fresh country bread or sourdough
- Butter
Method
To make the mayonnaise, place the egg yolks, mustard, lemon juice and a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper in a large bowl. Finely grate or crush the garlic and add this too. Combine thoroughly, then whisk in the oils in a very gradual, steady stream until you have a thick, smooth mayonnaise.
Finely chop the tarragon and chervil leaves and stir them through the mayonnaise. Adjust the acidity with a squeeze more lemon if it needs it and season again to taste. Refrigerate until needed.
To cook the crabs, bring a large pan of well-salted water to the boil. You must kill each crab before cooking it, as this is the most humane way to treat them. Lay the crab on its back and lift the tail flap to reveal a cone-shaped indentation in the shell. Quickly push a sharp spike, nail or bradawl into this indentation and twist a couple of times to destroy the ventral nerve centre. Then immediately drive the spike into the crab’s head, through the mouth, between and below the eyes, and move it back and forth a few times to destroy the nerve tissue here.
Place the crab into the boiling water. Once the water has returned to the boil, cook for 10–12 minutes. For crabs over 1kg, add 3–4 minutes for every additional 500g. Lift the crab from the pan and leave it to cool. Discard the cooking water. Repeat with the second crab if your pan isn’t large enough to cook both comfortably.
To pick the meat from the crabs, first twist off the legs and claws. Open up the body by pulling the undercarriage away from the hard top shell. Press your thumb onto the face of the crab, just below the eyes. It will crack and pop inwards. Lift this up and out of the shell and discard.
What remains inside the shell is the rich brown meat. It should be rich and creamy, although its texture can vary depending on the condition of the crab. Use a pick or teaspoon to remove all the meat from the shell.
From the body, discard the grey, feathery gills, or ‘dead man’s fingers’. Cut the body in half down the middle and carefully pick out the delicate white meat. The meat runs right through the body and into the joint of each leg, so take your time.
Lightly crack the legs and claws using the back of a heavy knife or a small hammer. The majority of the white meat can be found in the front claws, but take your time with all the legs, as it’s surprising how much meat you can find.
Toast the bread and butter it lightly. Spoon the crabmeat onto the toast and serve with the tarragon and chervil mayonnaise.
