Crab
Brown Crab 
Brown crab is the heaviest British crab and is recognisable by its distinctive 'pie crust' shell. Mature brown crabs can grow up to 25cm wide. The meat is moist and sweet and despite the name, brown crabs contain both white and brown meat.
They are generally available in the south east from April to December.
Preparing Fresh Live Crab
Unlike lobsters, crabs are amphibious and can survive quite well out of water for several days, as long as they are kept cold and damp. Ideally, store them in the bottom of your fridge covered by a tea towel. It is advisable to kill fresh crabs before you cook them, as not only is it kinder, but the crabs do tend to shed their shells and claws when boiled alive.
When you are ready to cook the crab, place in the freezer for half an hour beforehand. When the crab is sufficiently stunned, turn the crab on its back and look for the small pointed flap towards the back of the shell. Lift the flap and you will see a small hole. Take a thin sharp knife or screwdriver and insert into the hole pushing until you can feel the back of the shell. Move the knife or screwdriver firmly towards the back of the shell and then remove. Turn the crab over to drain for a few minutes before cooking.
Plunge into boiling water for about 20 minutes. When cooked, remove from the pan and cool under a running tap. This removes any excess protein.
To extract the meat, twist the claws from the body and set aside. To separate the top and bottom shells, hold the crab with head pointing upwards and knock the edge of the bottom shell against a hard surface. It should start to come away and can be easily removed with your hands.
Behind the crab's head, you will see a small stomach sac and some feathery gill, which you should discard. Use kitchen scissors to cut the centre portion into quarters and you should be able to pick out some flesh with a skewer or crab pick. Scrape out the brown meat with a spoon and set aside.
Break the claws in several place with a sharp tap from the back of a heavy knife and extract the meat. If you wish to serve the crab dressed, rinse out the body cavity and pack the brown and white meat back in again.
Potted Brown Crab
(Serves 4)
300g crab meat, include the brown meat if you like the flavour
1 medium shallot, peeled and finely chopped
2 tablespoons dry sherry
a good pinch of cayenne pepper, ground mace, freshly grated nutmeg
150g unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1 ½ teaspoons anchovy essence
1 teaspoon lemon juice, plus extra if needed
1 large lemon, cut into wedges
Method
Begin by placing the shallots, sherry and spices in a small saucepan. Bring the whole lot up to simmering point, then boil quite briskly until the liquid has reduced to about a generous dessertspoon. It should only take a couple of minutes.
Stir in the cubes of butter and, when they are melted, turn the heat down to very low and let it all simmer as gently as possible for 15 minutes, giving it a stir from time to time. After that, remove it from the heat and leave it to cool for about half an hour.
Pour the cooled but still liquid spicy butter through a sieve and press well to extract all the juice from the shallots. Mix in the crab meat, anchovy essence, teaspoon of lemon juice and a really good seasoning of salt and freshly milled black pepper. Taste and check the seasoning - you might like to add a little extra lemon juice.
Then spoon the mixture into ramekins or a larger dish. Cover with clingfilm and chill for three hours.Remove the potted crab from the fridge about half an hour before serving and serve with the lemon wedges.
Note: If you want to make this a day or so ahead, cover the surface with melted butter to seal off the air.