Alex Aitken, chef patron for Harbour Hotels, rustled up these delicious treats for Janet Street Porter and Brian Turner on the BBC’s Taste of Britain show and achieved the rare feat of leaving Janet speechless. Here he shows readers how to make the most of a prized local ingredient
Mudeford Crab Croquettes with Warm Tartar Sauce
For the brown crab butter
- 110g brown crab meat
- 110g soft butter
- Pinch of cayenne pepper
- Salt
- Juice of half a lemon
- 1 tbsp chopped chives
- 1 tsp chopped tarragon
Place the brown crab meat into a food processor and blitz until smooth then pass through a sieve.
Mix the crab meat with the softened butter, the chopped herbs and spices and season with salt, cayenne pepper (not too much, it’s nice and hot) and lemon juice.
Place the softened mixture into a piping bag and pipe into a cylindrical shape onto parchment paper. Freeze.
For the white crab brandade
- 225g white crab meat
- 225g dry mashed potato – allowed to cool
- 2 tbsp chopped chives
- Salt and pepper
Mix everything together and season with salt and pepper.
To make the croquettes: Remove the brown crab butter from the freezer and cut into finger length pieces. Carefully wrap them in the white crab brandade mixture so they resemble sausages and return to the freezer.
Whilst the croquettes are freezing, you can start to prepare the breadcrumbs In three separate bowls you will need some plain flour, some dried breadcrumbs and two beaten eggs let down with a dash of cold water.
Place the frozen croquettes first into the flour to give them a light coating, then dip into the beaten egg shaking off the excess then roll in the breadcrumbs to coat.
For best results do this twice.
The croquettes can now be placed into the fridge ready for deep frying.
Heat a large pan of oil to 170 degrees Celsius and carefully place the croquettes inside, turning occasionally to achieve an even golden brown colour.
Alternatively use an electric deep fat fryer.
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