To dresse a crabe is a traditional Elizabethan recipe for a dish of crabmeat mixed with cinnamon, sugar, wine and butter that's served in the empty crab shell with the crab claws. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Elizabethan version of To dresse a crabe.
To dreſſe a crabe.
Fyrste take awaye all the legges, and the heades, and then take all the fyſh out of the ſhelle, and make the ſhell as cleane as ye canne, and putte the meate into a dyſſhe, and butter it vppon a chafyng=dyſſhe of coles, and putte therto ſynamon and ſuger and a lytle vyneger, and when ye haue chafed it and ſeaſoned it, then putte the meate in the ſhelle agayne, and bruſe the heades, and ſet them upon the dyſſhe ſyde and ſerue it.
Modern Redaction
I have read this recipe carefully over and over. It mentions removing the meat from the body of the crab, but does not mention the claws. Yet it does mention bruising the heads and setting them on a side dish to serve. I think that what's actually referred to here is the claws.
Ingredients:
4 crabs, steamed or boiled to cook
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
50g butter
Method:
Remove the legs from the freshly-cooked craps. Open the shells (reserve the top shells). Carefully take out the meat from the shells and set aside.
Melt the butter in a small frying pan then sprinkle over the cinnamon, brown sugar and white wine vinegar. When the sugar has dissolved, add the crab meat and stir well until heated through.
Divide the seasoned and warmed crab meat between the reserved top shells of the crabs. Arrange on a dish, bruise the claws and arrange these on the dish with the crabs. Serve immediately.
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