Normandy Stuffed Crab

• Once the crab is killed pull off its belly flap from its underside. Twist off its legs and claws, crack them open and pull off any meat present inside it with the help of a skewer or a pincer. Now remove the shell and take out all the meat carefully out of it.
• Discard other organs inside it like the stomach sac, green or red matter present beneath it in the shell, and the pale gray fronds. Now take out any kind of remaining meat with the help of a teaspoon.
• Shave off all the crab meat in order to get rid of any cartilage and thoroughly scrub its meat and the shell under running water to remove any papery membranes within the shell.
• Melt 40 grams of butter first in a pan; add chopped shallots and onions and sauté until they become translucent.
• Add all the crab meat, garlic, and parsley, 40 grams of breadcrumbs, and salt and pepper to taste.
• Add dry cider and let it cook for 10 minutes on medium to low flame.
• Add this cooked mixture in the cleaned crab shells, sprinkle the remaining breadcrumbs on top of it and add the remaining butter to further enhance its rich taste.
• Grease an oven dish and place these stuffed shells on it. Bake this in a preheated oven (220 degree Celsius/ 425 degrees Fahrenheit/ Gas mark 7) for about 10 minutes.
• Serve hot directly out of the oven and straight from the shell with beans and sauce.

Trivia

• Crabs are considered to be decapods or crustaceans, having 10 limbs and skeleton, which is its shell, on the outside of its body.

National crab meat day is celebrated in America every year on 9th of March