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There is something about dressed crab with brown bread and butter that speaks of the English seaside – and big Cornish crabs, full of sweet meat and caught sustainably in pots, are a favourite with chefs.

What is the difference between cock and hen crabs?
The male (cock) crab has more sweet white meat, the hen more of the richly flavoured brown meat.

Is it best to buy live or cooked crab?
If you are buying live crabs, you need to know what you are doing, says Barbara Martin, of the shellfish specialist Martin’s Seafresh in Cornwall. She cooks up to 110lb (50kg) of crab a day, 15 of them at a time, in pots “big enough for me to crouch in”.

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She says: “I prefer to cook crabs for people, as I’m always a little afraid of what they will do with live ones.” That said, Martin’s website gives instructions on how to cook live crab, including how to dispatch it humanely.

First, lay it on its back, on the hard shell, lift the pointed flap and insert a screwdriver into the hole beneath. Tap it sharply, so that it goes right through the shell, killing the crab swiftly and painlessly. Turn it over and let it drain, before cooking in plenty of salted water. Martin recommends 20 minutes for crabs up to 2lb (900g) and 5 minutes more for every pound (450g) after that. “Once cooked, the secret is to spray the crab quickly with cold water, so the meat comes out more easily,” she says.

How do you pick cooked crab?
A crab should be eaten within two days of cooking, and kept very cold in the meantime. If you lift up the flap on the underside, it should smell sweet, with a hint of the sea.

Martin advises that you lay the crab on its back with the head at the top. Twist off the claws at the base, where they are attached to the central body, and then lay the legs out flat. First break them off two joints down and pull the rest backwards so they come away cleanly from the body, which will make it easier to lift it out.

Hold the crab’s body shell and knock the bottom edge of it against the chopping board to loosen it, and with your thumbs at the bottom of the body, push upwards to lever it out. Remove and throw away the stomach sac (just behind the mouth) as well as the pointed gills, which look like feathers.

Use a teaspoon to scoop out the meat from the body and shell. (If you want to serve the meat on the half shell, keep the brown and white separate.) Crack the legs and claws (with a nutcracker or rolling pin) and remove the white meat with a skewer or teaspoon handle.

Where to buy: Martin’s Seafresh (www.martins-seafresh.co.uk; 01637 806103); Fowey Fish (www.foweyfish.com; 01726 832202); Matthew Stevens & Son (www.mstevensandson.co.uk; 01736 799392).

Readers’ Queries

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If you have a food query, e-mail food.detective@thetimes.co.uk

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