Sourcing fresh crab

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Sourcing fresh crab
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bernie-woman

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 7824
Location: shropshire

Posted: Thu Mar 01, 07 10:24 am Post subject: Sourcing fresh crab
I am struggling to get fresh crab anywhere - I can get it frozen and I can get it fresh already dressed - neither of which I want - I asked the nearest fishmonger form me on te way back home from work yesterday who told me he can't find a supplier himself - he can only get hold of frozen I just want a crab that I can cook and pick out myself - does anyone know of a supplier

dougal

Joined: 15 Jan 2005
Posts: 7184
Location: South Kent

Posted: Thu Mar 01, 07 11:01 am Post subject:
While I could make suggestions for Kent, Shropshire is foreign to me. sorry. Would it help others if you listed a nearby town or two?

Jonnyboy

Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 23956
Location: under some rain.

Posted: Thu Mar 01, 07 11:02 am Post subject:
Are there any decent seafood restaurants nearby, you could ask them.

Cathryn

Joined: 16 Jul 2005
Posts: 19856
Location: Ceredigion

Posted: Thu Mar 01, 07 11:04 am Post subject:
I would have trouble here. Unless you are there when the boats come in they all get shipped off and away. Course I could go and catch my own (it's on the list of things to do )How come when I was a child my parents found time to do stuff like this with us? Baaad mother

bernie-woman

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 7824
Location: shropshire

Posted: Thu Mar 01, 07 11:05 am Post subject:

Jonnyboy wrote:

Are there any decent seafood restaurants nearby, you could ask them.

Actually that is not a bad idea JB - I had crab in an Italian restaurant in Ironbridge just after Christmas

- might be worthwhile having a special trip over there again at the weekend - gives us chance to go and eat there again

- I have a feeling they get lots of their ingredients from Ludlow which is an almighty trek from us but it might be possible for me to make an arrangement direct with the restaurant

Jonnyboy

Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 23956
Location: under some rain.

Posted: Thu Mar 01, 07 11:07 am Post subject:
Have yoy asked if your supermarket can order them in? IIRC Morrisons had something up offering this last time I was near one.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46247
Location: yes

Posted: Thu Mar 01, 07 11:07 am Post subject:
from the sea

bernie-woman

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 7824
Location: shropshire

Posted: Thu Mar 01, 07 11:11 am Post subject:

Jonnyboy wrote:

Have yoy asked if your supermarket can order them in? IIRC Morrisons had something up offering this last time I was near one.

I have asked Sainsburys and told me they could get frozen white and/or brown meat or fresh already dressed - haven't tried any of the others though

bernie-woman

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 7824
Location: shropshire

Posted: Thu Mar 01, 07 11:11 am Post subject:

dpack wrote:

from the sea

Jonnyboy

Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 23956
Location: under some rain.

Posted: Thu Mar 01, 07 11:13 am Post subject:

bernie-woman wrote:

I have asked Sainsburys and told me they could get frozen white and/or brown meat or fresh already dressed - haven't tried any of the others though

Our sainsbury's is quite good. I had live mussels and oysters from strangford lough out of there on Tue.

judith

Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22789
Location: Montgomeryshire

Posted: Thu Mar 01, 07 11:13 am Post subject:
I can get whole, "undressed", but cooked crab easily from our fishmonger, but I've never seen it uncooked.

bernie-woman

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 7824
Location: shropshire

Posted: Thu Mar 01, 07 11:14 am Post subject:

Jonnyboy wrote:

bernie-woman wrote:

I have asked Sainsburys and told me they could get frozen white and/or brown meat or fresh already dressed - haven't tried any of the others though

Our sainsbury's is quite good. I had live mussels and oysters from strangford lough out of there on Tue.

I suppose the fact that we couldn't be farther from the sea stumps our local one - not good fish at all in our local Sainsburys - have had some nice mussels from Waitrose though which they ordered for me so perhaps need to ask there

dougal

Joined: 15 Jan 2005
Posts: 7184
Location: South Kent

Posted: Thu Mar 01, 07 11:17 am Post subject:

judith wrote:

I can get whole, "undressed", but cooked crab easily from our fishmonger, but I've never seen it uncooked.

You can buy them live, (like lobster), but its going to be relatively hard away from the coast.

bernie-woman

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 7824
Location: shropshire

Posted: Thu Mar 01, 07 11:17 am Post subject:

Just been signposted to this from last Saturdays Guardian

Shell out on crab

Nikki Duffy
Saturday February 24, 2007
The Guardian

� Now is the best time for brown crab - they're in peak condition and full of meaty flesh. You should be able to get hold of them fresh at any fishmonger. If you're buying ready-picked crab, ask if it's been frozen: if it has, it will lack the lovely, firm texture and fresh flavour of a just-cooked crab, so probably should not be served unadorned in a salad, say. It's best to order live crab. Get the fishmonger to boil them for you, or do it yourself at home (you'll need a big saucepan). Use a good illustrated guide to help, such as the one in Rick Stein's Seafood (BBC Books).

� Male brown crabs (cocks) are a bit larger than females (hens), and their big claws are full of white meat. Hens are said to have sweeter brown meat. So it pays to buy one of each, really.
� The odd warning bell has sounded in terms of reduced catches in some areas. No one is suggesting we stop eating crab, but do shop with care: never buy very small crabs, but go for large, mature specimens that have had a chance to reproduce. Minimum landing size is around 120mm-140mm across the carapace, but it is easy to find much bigger. Don't buy a 'berried' female (ie, one with a mass of red roe under her abdomen) or just claws on their own: the bodies may well have been thrown back into the sea unused. If you want to be really careful, buy crab from the Inshore Potting Agreement area in Devon, a model of a well-managed, sustainable fishery (01548 580446 for details), though this crab tends to be sold locally, so is not that easy to get hold of if you don't live in the south-west.

� For mail order, wetfishshop.com is a good source and cooks crabs to order (Wednesdays and Thursdays are the best days to place an order).

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46247
Location: yes

Posted: Thu Mar 01, 07 11:20 am Post subject:
there are coastal downsizers live crabs can be obtained (be merciful at the end ) train from penzance or mallaigh

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