Salt Baked Mud Crab, Tarragon Mayo, Avocado
This recipe is all about showcasing the best of the produce, keeping it simple and limiting the need for any fuss!
Prep: 20 minutes - Cook: 40 minutes - Serves: 4 - Difficulty: Capable Cooks - Recipe: Hayden Quinn
Ingredients
1 x 1-1.2 kg live mud crab*
2 kg cooking salt
4 egg whites, reserving egg yolks to make mayonnaise
6 lemon myrtle leaves*, finely shredded
Zest 2 lemons
Mayonnaise
2 fresh egg yolks
Pinch sea salt
1 tsp dijon mustard
200ml Cobram Estate Light Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 tbs tarragon leaves, finely chopped
Juice half lemon
Sea salt, to taste
To Serve
1 ripe avocado, sliced
1 breadstick, split lengthwise and grilled on BBQ
NOTES
* Place crabs in the freezer or ice slurry for 1 hour to ‘put them to sleep’.
* Lemon myrtle is an Australian native bush that has the fragrance of lemon / lime. If you can't find lemon myrtle, you could substitute with lime zest or even kaffir lime leaf.
Method
Step 1. Preheat oven or BBQ to 220C. To make the salt crust, start by massaging the lemon myrtle and lemon zest in to the salt until aromatic and well combined. Next, whisk together the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Mix egg whites through the salt until you get a wet sand like consistency. Choose a suitable small baking tray, line the base of the tray with 1 cm of salt, place the crab on top and pack the remaining salt around the crab to cover. Place crab in oven or BBQ and cook for 35-40 mins.
Step 2. While the crab is cooking, whip together your mayonnaise. Place egg yolks and mustard in a medium size stainless bowl and whisk together. Now it is time to add the oil, to make it easier find a friend to help you with this step - one person holding the bowl and whisking, the other gently pouring in the oil. Alternatively if working on your own, use a kitchen cloth to make a donut ring to rest your bowl in while you whisk and pour the oil at the same time. Start the addition of oil initially with just a few drops of oil, whisking well while adding. Once it begins to come together you can then begin adding a very light stream of oil to the mix all the while whisking vigorously. The mayo should be thick and creamy once you add all the oil. Here you can now whisk in the tarragon, lemon juice and sea salt, then refrigerate until ready to serve.
Step 3. Once the crab has cooked slightly, remove from the salt crust and pick the meat from shell. Serve crab with grilled bread, sliced avocado, and the creamy tarragon mayo!
