July 27, 2026
Dressed crab
Dressed crab is cooked brown and white meat picked from the shell and arranged back in it, ready to eat cold. Brown meat from the body is soft and rich, white meat from the claws is sweet and flaky, and a good dressed crab uses both. Ask the counter for a cooked crab and we pick and dress it for you, or follow the method below to do it yourself.
Ingredients
- 1 cooked brown crab, about 800g to 1kg (ask the counter to dress it, or dress your own)
- 1 tbsp fresh breadcrumbs, for the brown meat
- a pinch of English mustard
- a squeeze of lemon
- a pinch of cayenne or paprika
- 1 hard-boiled egg, for garnish (optional)
- chopped parsley
- salt and pepper
Method
- Twist off the legs and claws. Crack the claws with the back of a heavy knife and pick out the white meat, keeping it in flakes and checking for shell.
- Turn the body over and push the central section up and out. Remove and discard the grey feathery gills, known as the dead man's fingers, and the small stomach sac behind the eyes.
- Scoop the brown meat from the shell into a bowl. Mix it with the breadcrumbs, mustard, a squeeze of lemon, the cayenne and seasoning, to a soft paste.
- Scrub and dry the main shell. Spoon the brown meat down the centre and pile the white meat on either side.
- Garnish with sieved egg and parsley. Chill until you are ready to serve.
Watch Rick Stein at work:
To serve: Brown bread and butter, lemon, a green salad and mayonnaise. To drink, a crisp white such as Muscadet or Chablis. A hen crab carries more brown meat, a cock crab more white claw meat.
Shop this recipe: brown crab and what is on the counter today. Cut to order at the counter.