A Cromer Crab.

Confession for confession I absolutly adore Crab. Not only that it reminds me of my childhood when we went to go fishing at Barfleur upon the rocks. We had a very clever Dachshund called Suzy, she would the rock where a crab was underneath, she would put herself on top of it, wag her then bark to warn us that there was a Crab underneath that precise rock. She always track one down.

Our Suzy and me. She was so clever. She loved my Dad to bits. He saved her from a farmer who wanted to drawn her because at one month and a bit she was the runt of the litter and the farmer thought she would never be good for hunting. But she made the perfect pet for us and happened to be very good at fishing.

My dad then went to dig the Crab out or to lift the stone if it was manageable. Afterwards coming back home with the limpets, the cockles, the clams, the oysters, the sea snails and the crabs, tired from a good day out. We waited impatiently for my mother to cook the Crabs which did have very simply. Of course my favourite part was the claws the big ones and small ones. The white and the brown was spread upon slices of buttered bread. Juice lemons, Et voilà we had our late tea time treat.

The Cromer Crabs was the one we had the most in those Rocks.

However there was on occasion the Onglette Crabs which have flat claws blue and red which was relatively prized especially by my Father. I still did prefer the Cromer Crabs for the ability to pick the Meat out of them. The Onglette ended up to make a Crab Bisque.

If go around the world speaking of Crabs, there a multidude which can be mentioned about. I will name a few.

Basket of Crabs.

There is the Shangai Mitten Crabs from Eastern Asia, Korea, South of China. The Crabs live in estuaries and rivers and has an extreme ability to survive and adapt. It is well consired in Asia and it is almost part of their culture. The female of that species is saught after for her roe. If it like in China, it is disliked by European and North America because it is an evasive species therefore its exportation is banned. However as the Crabs are fished heavilly in the river Yangtse. The Chinese came with the solution to get back the Crabs to China in order to replenish the population of those Crabs in their water where they are sought after. 

Hairy Crabs or Shangai Hairy Crabs are mainly Steamed or used in Soups like their Roe can be steamed as well and included in either Scrambled Eggs or Chinese Omelette.

Now there is the Blue Crab, this species is found along the entire East Coast of North America and also in the Golf of Mexico. It is well sought after and a big part of the economy for the fishing industry of the USA but also for its culinary purposes especially in Louisiana. The Blue Crab is mainly steamed however in Maryland they do a lovely Stew with it in White Wine, Sour cream, Fresh Tomatoes, Tomato Purée, add the seasonings Sea Salt and Black Peppercorns, one whole dried Chilli or two upon taste, a couple of Bay leaves and a bunch of Cilentro, chopped stems going in during the simmering and the leaves added right at the end and keep some chopped ones for decoration for the individual bowls.

The Blue Crab of the East Coast of America and the Golf of Mexico.

Then there is the somewhat large Taraba Crab from Japan. It can be baked, steamed, grilled. It has an odd look which is fairly strikingly bulky with a rough shell. However it is a deep sea Crab, a little difficult to catch therefore it is prized.

The Taraba Crab is also named the Red King Crab.

The Taraba bare a ressemblance to the most commonly Spider Crab which we fish in the Atlantic, the Channel, the North Sea and the Irish Sea. The Spider Crab similarly is found in deep water and can legs twenty centimetre long. It is often served in restaurants. You can keep the shell of Spider Crab, empty them of their cooked boiled flesh, don't keep the dead man fingers though, just the flesh of the crab the brown and the white, mix them together with a chopped soft boiled egg, add a little pinch of Cayenne Pepper, then place mix into the clean shell of your for a quirky presentation of your Crab Salad. You can serve it with the cooked legs of the Spider Crab on the side on a bed of little Gem lettuce mixed with Samphire and served a dip of Lemon Mayonnaise, and one  dip of Cayenne Pepper Mayo. It is a simple Spider Crab Salad with a difference which you will enjoy.

Spider Crab, a good Catch in our Waters.

For the Trivia in Japanese deep water they also have giant Spider Crabs but when I say giant it is giant, the long legs of that crab can reach three metres and seventy centimetres  but they are rather thin for the size of it actual body shell which can reach up to forty centimetres. I have heard of them being caught but I don't if they eaten or put simply on display for the astonishment that the crab causes.