Also known as the Blue Manna and Sand Crab, blue swimmer crabs are considered to be Australia’s choicest edible crab. They are widely distributed along the entire coastline of Australia. Queensland accounts for almost half the commercial catch. Other significant fisheries include New South Wales, Spencer Gulf in South Australia and southern Western Australia. An agile and fast swimming crab, they are caught by baited crab traps in harbours and bays, but also trawled in offshore waters and are available all year round - primarily from February to June. Average size of each crab is about 350-400g. This species of crab has been reported to grow up to 200mm in carapace width.

To Buy
Sold whole, cooked and green (uncooked). For green or cooked Blue Swimmer crabs: limbs should be intact and have no discolouration. Lift a crab and shake before buying - there should be no sound of sloshing water and be heavy in proportion to size.

To Store
Wrap in plastic wrap, foil or store in airtight container in refrigerator up to 3 days or you can freeze up to 3 months providing your freezer operates at –18ºC.

To Prepare
For green or cooked crabs, lift the flap on the underside of the crab and lever off the top shell in one piece; keep the top shell for presentation if needed. Remove the gills or spongy parts under the shell, these are known are as dead men’s fingers. Rinse lightly. Using a large sharp knife cut the crab into quarters and crack the claws with the back of knife or a nut cracker, this will allow flavours to penetrate in cooking.

To Cook
Green blue swimmer crabs can be stir fried, steamed, barbecued or baked. Do not re-cook cooked crabs. The crabs will change to bright orange colour when they are cooked. Cooked blue swimmer crabs are great eaten straight out of the shell or you can separate all of the meat and make a light Asian dressing and bulk out the salad with fresh grated coconut, rice noodles and bean sprouts and peanuts.