Crab recipes

Browse our incredible collection of crab recipes, including Martin Wishart's crab cakes recipe, Theo Randall's crab salad recipe and Christoffer Hruskova's Dorset crab with sea buckthorn and carrot.

Fort on Crab

"Do you know," said my friend, Stevie, jabbing a somnolent crab with the end of his fishing rod,"that a crab can break a fishing rod with its claws." whereupon the crab woke up and promptly demonstrated the truth of his observation. So, if you get a live one, take care how you handle it.

The crab we eat most of is the Edible or Common crab. You also see spider crabs for sale, which are very good, and much loved by the Spanish, and very occasionally swimmer crabs, which make splendid stock. If you come across soft-shelled crabs they're likely to be the American Blue Crab caught during the season when it's shed it's old casing and before the new one has hardened, although Venetians use the Shore or Green Crab for a similar ends. But for most of us, the Common Crab is the crab of choice. And the bigger the better, and certainly never under 12cm across, or it'll be illegal. Before you boil them, you're supposed to dispatch them by driving an awl or something similar into the brain just below the eyes before being boiled in salted water for 20 to 25 minutes, depending on size. And mind those claws. Females are preferred to males because they pack bigger claws. I make no comment.

Crabby characteristics vary with the seasons. According to the king among fish chefs (and Great British Chef), Nathan Outlaw: "In north Cornwall the best time for cock Common crabs is February to May, for spider crabs May to early July, and then for Common Crabs, July to September”. And he should know.

I've always preferred crab to lobster. Its flesh is every bit as sweet, but it's lighter, more delicate and I can eat a lot more of it. Of course you get white meat and brown meat from the crab. The white meat is purer and light. The dark crab meat is more pungent and more potent. Actually, if you must know, it's mainly the digestive gland and the reproductive organs. That should make you feel better.

Article written by Matthew Fort

Crab recipes

Crab cakes Martin Wishart

Course:	Starter
Complexity:	Easy
Cooking Time:	30 minutes
Serves:	6

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Crab risotto with crème fraîche and chives Simon Hulstone

Course:	Main
Complexity:	Easy
Cooking Time:	45 minutes
Serves:	4

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Crab and cheddar tart Nathan Outlaw

Course:	Starter
Complexity:	Easy
Cooking Time:	1 hour
Serves:	6

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Crab salad Theo Randall

Course:	Starter
Complexity:	Easy
Cooking Time:	20 minutes
Serves:	4

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Crab ravioli Richard Corrigan

Course:	Starter
Complexity:	Medium
Cooking Time:	1 hour 30 minutes plus 30 resting time
Serves:	4

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Crab salad with avocado cream Andy Waters

Course:	Starter
Complexity:	Easy
Cooking Time:	45 minutes
Serves:	4

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Crab salad, mackerel tartare, cucumber and avocado Adam Simmonds

Course:	Starter
Complexity:	Easy
Cooking Time:	1 hour plus resting, setting and marinating
Serves:	4

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Baked potatoes with crab and walnuts Andy Waters

Course:	Main
Complexity:	Easy
Cooking Time:	1 hour 30 minutes
Serves:	4

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Bouillabaisse with cock crab and poached lobster Phil Fanning

Course:	Starter
Complexity:	Challenging
Cooking Time:	2 hours plus marination time
Serves:	6

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Crab, cheddar and chive omelette Nathan Outlaw

Course:	Main
Complexity:	Easy
Cooking Time:	25 minutes
Serves:	2

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Dressed crab with pineapple chutney and goat's cheese beignet Simon Haigh

Course:	Main
Complexity:	Medium
Cooking Time:	50 minutes
Serves:	4

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Dorset crab, sea buckthorn and carrot Christoffer Hruskova

Course:	Starter
Complexity:	Challenging
Cooking Time:	2 hours plus setting time
Serves:	3

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Linguine al granchio (crab linguine) Paul Ainsworth

Course:	Main
Complexity:	Easy
Cooking Time:	50 minutes
Serves:	4

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South Indian crab cake and crab chutney Vineet Bhatia

Course:	Canapé
Complexity:	Easy
Cooking Time:	50 minutes plus cooling
Serves:	4

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Stir-fried crab claws with spring onion, chilli and garlic Andy Waters

Course:	Starter
Complexity:	Easy
Cooking Time:	30 minutes
Serves:	4

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Crab custard, pink grapefruit, crab and mint salad Kevin Mangeolles

Course:	Starter
Complexity:	Easy
Cooking Time:	45 minutes
Serves:	10

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Chilled cucumber and horseradish gazpacho with Lymington crab salad and pickled white radish Matthew Tomkinson

Course:	Starter
Complexity:	Easy
Cooking Time:	40 minutes plus chilling and pickling
Serves:	4

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Cider-cured sea trout with a crab sauce and sea vegetables Nathan Outlaw

Course:	Main
Complexity:	Medium
Cooking Time:	3 hours
Serves:	4

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Cornish crab with pink grapefruit mayonnaise on wholemeal toasts Adam Gray

Course:	Canapé
Complexity:	Easy
Cooking Time:	40 minutes
Serves:	8

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Crab gnocchi Stephen Crane

Course:	Starter
Complexity:	Easy
Cooking Time:	3 hours
Serves:	4

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Muncaster crab, hen’s egg, tossed salad and English mustard mayonnaise Nigel Haworth

Course:	Main
Complexity:	Medium
Cooking Time:	1 hour
Serves:	4

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Courgette flowers with goat's cheese and violet jelly Pascal Aussignac

Course:	Starter
Complexity:	Easy
Cooking Time:	30 minutes
Serves:	4

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Pan-fried halibut, compressed cucumber, crab and lemon grass consomme Kevin Mangeolles

Course:	Main
Complexity:	Easy
Cooking Time:	3 hours 45 minutes plus setting and 2 hours cooling
Serves:	6

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Pan-fried sea bass fillet with white crab salad and brown crab mayonnaise Robert Thompson

Course:	Starter
Complexity:	Easy
Cooking Time:	25 minutes
Serves:	4

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Pan-roast fillets of sole with crab-crushed Jersey Royals and Sauce Grenoble Mark Jordan

Course:	Main
Complexity:	Medium
Cooking Time:	1 hour
Serves:	6

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Potage of mussels and salt cod with Whitby crab croutes Frances Atkins

Course:	Starter
Complexity:	Easy
Cooking Time:	1 hour
Serves:	4

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Sweetcorn panna cotta with crab cannelloni Alan Murchison

Course:	Starter
Complexity:	Challenging
Cooking Time:	4 hours
Serves:	12

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