[Riki_79]

After a terrible night fishing SPP last night (only landing a tiny pout, 2 whelks and the largest spider crab I've ever seen) and returning home with nothing for the kids to eat. I was wondering what you do to spider crab to prepare it? I've heard you're supposed to keep it in sea water for a couple of days before eating? But I dont know. Can anyone shed any light?
i.e. Before cooking, cleaning, cooking, shelling, ewtc...

As I love crab, but dont wanna poison the kids (As I've heard they have poisonus parts to them too!)

Cheers

 

[Freeliner]

There's nothing poisonous in a Spider crab that isn't found in any other crab - I've certainly eaten them without ill effects (minus the dead-mens-fingers you remove from any crab, of course). The easiest meat to get at is what's in the legs and claws.

The shells probably collect more weed and other growth on them than other crabs - so a very good rinsing is in order before cooking. Those growths may trap silt etc., which is the only possible heath risk I can think of, apart from the damage you do to your hands in shelling the body!

 

[nasher1972]

i just cook it as is once its been cleaned and prepare it as with any other crab

not sure of the reasons behind it but I was always told never to eat a crab that was dead before cooking (unless you'd killed it yourself immediately prior to throwing it in the pot)

only reason i can imagine you've been told to keep it in seawater for two days first is to allow it to purge itself as you would with garden snails or mussels. This wouldnt seem to be irrelevant though as you do not eat the intestinal bits of a crab

 

[castnet]

get as many legs and claws as you can get hold of lightly crack them ..in a pan put some oil on a low heat and throw in some garlic ,ginger ,a few different types of soy sauce a bit of oyster sauce some chilli ,bit of vineger sugar rice wine ,,you get the idea what ever you want to put in cook it all up for a while in the oil then bang in the semi cracked crab limbs ,,,blast it for a few minutes then put in some chicken stock and mix it all up,, a tiny bit of corn flour and bring it all to a real sticky gooey ickey pan of niceness ,,a bit of rice and a crate of cold beer oh and i put a few dice toms in at the end for a few minutes and some spring onions at the last 30 seconds ,,and whatever else is lying around