The Salcombe Crab. A delicacy in demand. A celebration of seafood. A legend in its own right. This commendable crustacean is so revered in fact, that we host the annual Salcombe Crab Fest in its honour. Here, crab is king!
But what makes this crab so special? It could be the care and attention to detail that goes into catching them, or the sustainable and environmentally friendly methods of shellfishing used in the area, or maybe the crystal clear, nutrient-rich waters of the South Devon coastline that give that decadent taste.
Whatever the reason, the Salcombe crab deserves to be prepared, cooked and eaten with love. At Salcombe Finest, we are crab crazy, which means we are well-positioned to offer expert advice on all things crab related. Browse our mouth-watering recipes – can you smell the crab enticing you down to Devon?
The Classic Crab Sandwich Recipe
Ingredients:
- 8 slices of best-quality brown or granary bread
- Unsalted butter
- 1 lemon cut into four wedges
For the crab paste:
- Brown crab meat from one large Salcombe crab (reserve white crabmeat, see below)
- 1 tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 tsp tomato ketchup
- Juice ½ lemon
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- Large pinch cayenne pepper
For white crab meat:
- Picked white crab meat from the same crab
- Handful chopped mixed herbs (e.g. parsley, dill, tarragon, chervil, chives)
- Juice ½ lemon
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Method:
1. Mix crab paste ingredients together in a bowl, season, then set aside. In a separate bowl, mix white crab meat with the herbs, lemon juice, oil and seasoning.
2. Lightly spread slices of bread with butter and spoon crab paste onto four slices. Smooth paste over and pile with white meat.
3. Top with remaining bread and serve halved or in triangles/squares with a lemon wedge.
Recipe courtesy of BBC Good Food
Best Salcombe Crab Cakes Recipe
Ingredients:
- 3 spring onions
- ½ bunch of fresh parsley
- 750 g white crab meat
- 300 g mashed potatoes
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 large free-range egg
- Plain flour (for dusting)
- Olive oil
- Watercress
Method
1. Trim and finely chop the spring onions and parsley. Beat the egg.
2. Combine the crabmeat, mashed potatoes, spring onion, parsley, cayenne and egg in a bowl and season. Chill in the fridge for half an hour. The shape into 6 cm patties
3. Dust with flour and shallow fry in oil for about 5 minutes on each side – or until golden-brown.
4. Serve with some watercress on the side and a dollop of mayonnaise or tartare sauce.
Recipe courtesy of Jamie Oliver
Crab linguine with Basil, Lemon and Chili
Ingredients:
- ⅓ cup[ olive oil
- Zest and juice 1 ½ lemons
- 4 red chillies, finely chopped
- ¾ lb fresh linguine
- 9 oz white crab meat
- Handful of fresh torn basil leaves
Method:
1. In a small pan, place olive oil, lemon zest and chopped chilis. Cook until they begin to sizzle then remove and set aside.
2. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil, add linguine and cook for around 7 minutes or until soft. Drain well with boiling water.
3. Add chilli and lemon zest and lemon juice to the linguine and cook over medium heat until sizzling. Add crabmeat and toss gently for 1-2 minutes to warm crab meat through.
4. Fold in basil and season. Spoon into warmed serving bowls.
Mexican-style Crab Cake Tacos
Ingredients:
- 1 Cup Cooked Crab Meat
- 2 Cups Panko Bread Crumbs
- 2 tbsp Onion – small diced
- 1 Egg
- ¼ Cup Mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp Lime Juice
- ½ tsp Lime Zest
- ½ tsp Cumin
- ¼ tsp Serrano chile – thinly sliced
- ¼ tsp Sea Salt
- ¼ Cup Oil – for shallow frying
Method:
1. Chop onion into a small dice, and thinly slice serrano pepper. If Using fresh crab, roughly chop until flaky.
2. Add all ingredients into a glass bowl and gently fold together until mixture is creamy.
3. Form golf ball sized discs and place onto a parchment lined baking sheet.
4. Cover crab cakes with plastic wrap and let chill in your refrigerator for 2 hours.
5. Heat a small non stick pan with canola oil at your stove’s medium setting. Oil should gently ripple when it’s ready to be used.
6. Using a pair of kitchen tongs, gently place one crab cake at a time into pan to shallow fry. I always recommend pretending your frying pan is a clock and starting at “twelve o’clock.” That way you can keep an eye on the cooking time of each crab cake.
7. Cook crab cakes for about 3 minutes per side or until golden.
8. Using your kitchen tongs and a metal spatula, gently turn crab cakes over and continue cooking.
9. Place cooked crab cakes onto a paper towel lined plate to drain of excess oil.
10. Add two to three small crab cakes onto a soft corn tortilla, and garnish as desired.
Visit and Stay in Salcombe 2018
Whether you fancy taking a trip to Salcombe and picking up your very own locally-caught crab to cook, or you want to spend the whole week indulging in all the crab-based goodies available at our delicious restaurants and cafes, we can provide information and assistance to get you started!
We are experts in providing luxury accommodation in Salcombe so you can stay here and spend all day and night eating delicious crab if you like! We also have a host of other locally sourced delicacies, as well as some wonderful walks, hotspots and eating/drinking establishments should you want to engage in something a little less, well….crab!
