Baked crab

Method

1. Put the crabs to sleep in the freezer for 15 minutes. Bring a very large pan of water to the boil and drop in the crabs. Cover and boil for 15 minutes. Remove from the water and cool.
2. Twist the claws and legs off the bodies and set aside for now. Put each crab on its back. Hold the edges of the shell with your fingers and then use your thumbs to push on where the leg section joins the body and lever the body out.
3. Pull off the feathery dead man’s fingers that are sticking out from the body. Then push with your thumbs behind the eyes, to break the section off. Remove and discard.
4. Scrape out all the brown meat from the sides of the shell and set aside. Use a heavy knife or hammer to crack open the claws so that you can remove all of the juicy meat. Make sure you break open the knuckles and legs to get every last bit.
5. Cut the leg section of the body in half and use a skewer or lobster pick to pick out all the sweet white meat from the many compartments. Clean and tidy the shells.
6. Heat the oil in a pan and gently fry the onion and carrot for 5 minutes to soften. Add the garlic and chilli and cook for 30 seconds, then stir in the flour. Cook for a minute, then gradually stir in the milk and stock until you have a thick, silky béchamel sauce. Remove from the heat.
7. Stir all the brown and white meat and the parsley into the sauce. Season with salt and white pepper and spoon into the clean crab shells.
8. Heat the grill to medium high. Scatter the crabs with breadcrumbs and grill for a couple of minutes until golden. Serve immediately.