To be perfectly honest, 20 years ago, before I moved to West Dorset, I’d never even heard of spider crabs. Now they are so much a part of my recreational crab-potting and family-feeding fishing life that when talking to others about them, we only ever refer to them as ‘spiders’.
The irony is that, although the south coast of England is pretty much plagued with spider crabs at this time of year, practically nobody ever eats them, which is insane because they are delicious.
They’re like a beautiful mongrel cross between a brown crab and a lobster, having Tim Burton-monster cartoon-like spindly long legs and elongated claws, packed with lobster-like white meat. Inside their dinosaur-Esque spiky armored body shell, they have a sumptuous mixture of soft brown meat and even thicker chunky white muscle meat.
The claws and legs are thick-shelled and take some welly with a hammer to crack open. And the porcupine-like prickly shell makes them a pain to handle when they’re alive and even more precarious to yank open after boiling. But the effort and the odd spiked finger or hammer thumped thumb is more than worth it.
Especially if you make spider crab spaghetti or linguini using all the brown and white meat mixed together. Gently warm it in a knob of salty farmhouse butter with some crushed chili and garlic, then fold it into the freshly cooked pasta and serve with fresh parsley and a cold beer or a big glass of white wine.
Denne historien er fra June 24, 2020-utgaven av Shooting Times & Country.
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Denne historien er fra June 24, 2020-utgaven av Shooting Times & Country.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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United we stand
Following United Utilities' decision to end grouse shooting on its land, Lindsay Waddell asks what will happen if we ignore our vital moors
Serious matters
An old gamebook prompts a contemplation on punt-gunning
They're not always as easy as they seem
While coneys of the furry variety don't pose a problem for Blue Zulu, he's left frustrated once again by bolting bunnies of the clay sort
Debutant gundogs
There's lots to think about when it comes to making the decision about when to introduce your dog to shooting
When the going gets rough
Al Gabriel returns to the West London Shooting School to brush up on his rough shooting technique
The Field Guide To British Deer - BDS 60th Anniversary Edition
In this excerpt from the 60th anniversary edition of the BDS's Field Guide To British Deer, Charles Smith-Jones considers the noise they make
A step too far?
Simon Garnham wonders whether a new dog, a new gun and two different fields in need of protection might have been asking too much for one afternoon's work
Two bucks before breakfast
A journey from old South London to rural Hertfordshire to stalk muntjac suggests that the two aren't as far detached as they might seem
Stalking Diary
Stalkers can be a sentimental bunch, and they often carry a huge attachment to their hill
Gamekeeper
Alan Edwards believes unique, private experiences can help keepers become more competent and passionate custodians of the countryside