serves
1-2
prep
10 minutes
cook
35 minutes
difficulty
Mid
serves
1-2
people
preparation
10
minutes
cooking
35
minutes
difficulty
Mid
level
Ingredients
- 1–1.5 kg live mud crab (feisty ones are best. See Note)
- 180 g butter
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 tbsp hot English mustard
- 2 tsp cider vinegar
- squeeze of lemon juice
- river salt and white pepper, to season
Freezing time 45 minutes
Standing time 2 hours
Instructions
Being sure to leave the claws tied, place your mud crab into the freezer to gently induce insensibility; this will take about 45 minutes.
Heat a large saucepan of water on high heat, bring to the boil and add enough cooking salt so it tastes salty like the ocean.
Remove the crab from the freezer, untie the string and use a pestle to lightly tap the claw shells so they split a little. Be careful – if you are too vigorous you’re in danger of smashing them open.
Place the crab in the boiling water, leave it on the stove for 2 minutes, and then remove the saucepan from the heat. Set aside the crab in the water for 2 hours. By this stage it should still be quite warm.
Start making your sauce about half an hour before the crab is ready, this will ensure that everything is a lovely warm temperature when you eat it.
Place the butter into a small saucepan (not too small as the butter will bubble up) and slowly melt it over a gentle heat.
Once it has clarified, which will take about 20 minutes, raise the heat and keep cooking. The butter will boil and start to foam before it settles and goes clear. After this happens the butter will start to foam once more. Keep an eye on it here as you want to catch it before it burns. It will start to smell deliciously caramelised and will begin to darken. Once you start to see a nut-brown colour, remove the saucepan from the heat and quickly strain the butter into a small bowl. From when it starts to boil, this will take about 10 minutes.
In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, mustard, vinegar and a little salt. Slowly pour in the butter, whisking as you go. The sauce will emulsify and thicken; not as much as a mayonnaise but more like a batter texture.
Lift the crab out of the saucepan and give it a gentle shake to jiggle off any excess water. Holding the crab over a bowl, use your fingers to lift the flap on the underside and pull off the top shell. You will find that there’s a lot of liquid that gets released. Scrape off any crab ‘mustard’ bits from the underside of the shell and reserve.
Use your fingers to remove the feathery gills attached to the crab body and discard. Place the crab on a chopping board and cut it down the centre of its body. Arrange it nicely on a platter.
Gather the reserved crab ‘mustard’ bits – the thicker bits are best – and about 2 tablespoons of the juices that were released into the bowl. Whisk this into the butter sauce, along with a little squeeze of lemon. Have a final taste, adjust the seasoning if necessary and place into a pretty bowl to serve.
Sit down with your crab-eating friend and slowly conquer the shell, dipping the crab in the rich buttery sauce as you go. Use your hands, crab claws and pickers and get messy.
Notes
• You can use blue swimmers but mud crabs are a lot more decadent and their firm flesh makes them ideal for this dish.
Photography by Sharyn Cairns. Styling by Lee Blaylock. Food preparation by Rachael Lane.
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
