Devon and Dorset crab

What it is

Along the coasts of Devon and Dorset, crab is less a recipe than a local habit. Brown crab is caught in pots off both counties, landed in small harbours and eaten within hours, most often as a dressed crab or a crab sandwich. The meat comes in two kinds that define the dish: white meat from the claws and legs, sweet and fibrous, and brown meat from the body, softer and much richer.

A dressed crab has the white and brown meat picked out and arranged back in the cleaned shell, the brown sometimes loosened with breadcrumbs or a little mayonnaise, with lemon, brown bread and salad alongside. The sandwich mixes the two meats with a little mayonnaise, lemon juice and black pepper and piles them onto thick brown bread, which holds the moisture without going soggy. Dressed crab is eaten all round the British coast; what makes it local here is where the pots were set.

Where it comes from

The crab is caught with pots, a static method: strings of baited pots are left on the sea floor and hauled every day or two, and the crabs come up alive and undamaged, which is what the fresh trade depends on. The boats work close inshore and land into the same towns that cook the catch.

In Devon the landings are spread across both coasts — small north-coast ports such as Appledore, and in the south Salcombe and Dartmouth, which land some of the largest brown crab catches in the country. Further east in Dorset, boats out of Weymouth set their pots on the rocky ground off the Isle of Portland. The waters there are anything but sheltered — the Portland Race off the Bill is a notorious tidal stretch — but the rocky seabed gives crab and lobster the crevices they need, and the same pots bring up both.

What goes into it

The preparation relies on the quality of the meat rather than a long list of ingredients. A dressed crab or a good sandwich will typically contain:

• Brown crab meat, from the body, which gives a deep, savoury richness.
• White crab meat, from the claws and legs, adding sweetness and a firmer texture.
• Mayonnaise, used sparingly to bind the two meats without overpowering them.
• Lemon juice, for acidity to cut the fat of the brown meat.
• Freshly ground black pepper, the main seasoning.

The result is a pale, loose filling against dark bread. There is nothing to hide behind: pasteurised or previously frozen meat announces itself immediately, which is why the places that do it well say where the crab was landed.

How it is eaten

The setting is a café beside a working harbour, in a village like Appledore or on the quay at Weymouth. The sandwich comes on thick brown bread with a little salad and a wedge of lemon; the dressed crab arrives in its shell with the same companions.

English sparkling wine, now made in quantity across the south of England, or a dry white with enough acidity to stand up to the brown meat, are the usual glasses.

Curious facts

• Two distinct textures. White meat from the claws is firm and sweet; brown meat from the body is softer and more intense.
• Pot-caught, not trawled. Most crab served on these coasts comes from pots, which keeps the catch alive and the seabed intact.
• Two animals, one fishery. Off Portland the same pots take lobster as well as crab, and the two are sold side by side off the same boats.
• Simple seasoning. Good versions rely on little more than lemon and pepper.
• Local by catch, not by recipe. Dressed crab is eaten all round Britain; here the point is that it was landed a few hundred metres away.

Where to try it

A harbour café in Appledore, Salcombe or Dartmouth in Devon, or on the waterfront at Weymouth in Dorset, where the crab was landed that morning. Fishmongers in the same towns sell dressed crab in the shell to take away, which is the cheaper and often better option. Quality varies with how recently the crab was picked: meat picked that day tastes of the sea, and meat picked three days ago tastes of the fridge.