What to Look For at the Market

A good crab stall is a modest thing: a slab of ice, a few stacked crates, a hand-written card with the day's landings. Buy from someone who can tell you where the boat went out and when it came back. Freshness matters more than size, and it is far easier to judge than most people think.

You will usually see two sorts. Brown crab is the one for eating cold — sweet, dense white meat in the claws and legs, dark, rich brown meat under the carapace. Spider crab, with its spiky shell and long legs, has finer, slightly sweeter meat and is worth buying when it appears in spring and early summer, though there is less of it per kilo.

For brown crab, a hen has a broad, rounded apron flap on the underside and a fuller body cavity. A cock has a narrow, pointed flap and bigger claws. Hens are prized for the brown meat and roe; cocks for claw meat. Both are excellent.

• Pick it up. It should feel heavy and solid for its size, never light or hollow-sounding.
• Smell it. Sea, salt, nothing else. A sharp ammonia tang means it is past its best.
• Check the legs. They should be firm and tucked in, not dangling or flopping.
• Ask when it was cooked. Properly cooked crab sold chilled is a day or two old at most.

Most market stalls sell crab cooked and chilled, which is the sensible choice unless you have a very large pan and no fear of them. If you are buying live, choose a crab that is lively and heavy, and cook it the same day.

Getting It Home and Keeping It Cold

Crab spoils quickly and does not tolerate a warm car boot. Take a cool bag with a couple of ice packs, and in summer ask for the crab to be bagged with ice. Once home, put it straight into the coldest part of the fridge, covered, and eat it within 24 hours for the best flavour — two days at a stretch if it was cooked that morning.

If you buy live crab, keep it in the fridge wrapped in damp newspaper, not in water, and cook it within a few hours. Plunge it into a very large pan of well-salted boiling water — roughly 15 minutes for a 1kg crab, plus 5 minutes for each extra 500g. Let it cool in the water, then drain and chill before picking.

Picking the Meat Without Wasting a Scrap

Do this over a bowl, on newspaper, with the radio on. It takes twenty minutes and no skill at all.

Twist off the legs and claws. Crack the claws with the back of a heavy knife or a rolling pin, wrap them in a tea towel first to stop the shell flying, and pull out the meat in whole pieces. Crack the leg joints and push the meat out with the handle of a teaspoon or a skewer.

Turn the crab over and lever off the apron, then pull the body away from the carapace. Scoop the brown meat from the inside of the shell into a separate bowl. Remove the grey feathery gills and the small sac behind the mouth, then split the body and pick out the white meat from the chambers.

Keep the two meats apart. They behave differently in the kitchen and taste better served side by side than mashed together.

The Simplest Plate, and Still the Best

White meat, a squeeze of lemon, a pinch of flaky salt, nothing else. Push it onto hot buttered brown bread — a good dark soda bread or a coarse wholemeal — and eat it with your fingers, outdoors if the weather allows.

The brown meat wants a little more. Fork it through with a few drops of lemon juice, a small pinch of cayenne, a scrap of English mustard and a teaspoon of the best olive oil you own. Spread it thickly on toast, or spoon it alongside the white meat so you get a little of both in every mouthful.

Serve with: thinly sliced brown bread and salted butter, a wedge of lemon, a small dish of mayonnaise loosened with lemon juice, and a sharp green salad. A dry cider, a crisp white or a light ale all work. Nothing sweet, nothing heavy.

A Few Good Things to Do with the Leftovers

• Crab cakes. Equal weights of white and brown meat, a teaspoon of mustard, a beaten egg, a spoonful of breadcrumbs and plenty of parsley. Shape, chill for half an hour, then fry gently in butter until golden.
• Brown meat on toast. Warm the brown meat in a pan with a knob of butter and a splash of cream or cider, then spoon it over sourdough and finish with lemon zest.
• Shell stock. Simmer the picked shells with a sliced onion, a bay leaf and water for 20 minutes. Strain and reduce. Use it as the base for a bisque or a risotto.
• Cold with pasta. White meat folded through hot linguine with lemon zest, chilli and olive oil, off the heat so it stays sweet.

Buy well, keep it cold, pick it cleanly, and dress it lightly. Crab this fresh does the rest of the work itself.