why not eat the signal

P

Pete Rodaway

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Re. the recent change in the byelaw for trapping signal crayfish. I feel that responsible trapping of signals for food should be a valid reason to issue a licence, especially in the south and midlands.

Our native crays would of course be returned unharmed, failure to do so should attract an enormous fine.

Surely any reasonable way to remove some of these american interlopers should be adopted.
 
R

Ron 'The Hat' Clay

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I once caught 6 big ones from the Upper Ouse.

Brought them home in a plastic bucket and chucked them alive into a big saucepan of boiling water.

Gorgeous they were.
 
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chappers

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dobbs weir on the lee is trapped for crays and these are sold to a local hotel
 
E

ED (The ORIGINAL and REAL one)

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The correct way to cook crays is the same way as lobster is cooked:

Boiling is one of the simplest ways to cook a lobster, and is probably best for the squeamish that don't wish to cut up a live lobster with a knife. Some say that you can 'hypnotize' a lobster by rubbing the top of its head or its abdomen, thereby pacifying it before boiling. The theory is that the adrenaline produced by a frightened lobster adversely affects the texture and flavor of the meat. I have never seen or tasted any evidence of this, but if you want to cover all possible bases, go ahead and hypnotize your lobster. It is important to select a pot big enough to hold enough water to cover the lobsters completely. Bring the water to a rolling boil and add 1 tablespoon salt per quart of water. Put the lobsters in claws first and begin timing from the moment the water comes back to a boil.
 
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The Hood

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Trust me lads i'm a chef of 20 years, I used to catch crays from the river Thame at ickford bridge, and won chef of the year in 1991. Make a court buillion, a posh french seasoned cooking liquid, in a nice big pan. Put allsorts of flavouring into the water, herbs, onions, wine etc and boil this for an hour or so.

Then pass through a sieve into another pan, bring to the boil, and put in your cray, craw or lobster and boil until pink in colour. Lush.

As an added bonus, make a bechamel sauce (White sauce) make some fresh breadcrumbs and mix in a little cheddar and fresh parmesan, cut the cray in half ditch the brain area, put on a bit of sauce, top with the crumb mix (Not Van Den Eynde Crumb of course) and grill till nicely brown, a sprinkle of fresh chopped parsley. A quick thermidore recipe> Hows that.
 
R

Ron 'The Hat' Clay

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I was legering for chub at the time with lobs. You get these bite which pull the rod tip forward and back very slowly. After missing them and finding the lob chewed I began to suspect signals.

So all I did when seeing the bite was to wind in very slowly. The signal hangs on to the worm and hook like grim death.

Watch the claws, the big ones can really nip.
 
F

Fred Bonney

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On the Ouse you just put your keepnet in and they climb up!
 
R

Ron 'The Hat' Clay

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Another way is to construct a drop net which you can bait with something the crays like. A bit of sardine would be ideal. Tie it in the middle of the net and drop it into a suitable part of the river.

After it's been there about an hour lift it. You should have a fine catch.

Return any native crays to the water of course. They are protected by law.
 
B

Big Swordsy :O)

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Listen to the Hood, he speaks the gospel according to Escoffier!

Stunning them before dispatch is a waste of time, boiling water, steam or split and grill!

JUST DO IT QUICK!
 
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Adrian Chubb

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Paulio - you can buy crayfish traps / nets on ebay for ?7.50 it may not be legal to use them though.
 
Y

yoggy

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Lovely!!,we used to eat them all the time from the Ouse,my dad used to go fishing when i was a nipper and brought back loads of em,my mum used to go up the chippie whilst dad was cooking them...i still eat them now,although not as often.
 
Paul H

Paul H

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Derbyshire: best beer, best cheese, best puddings.
Is anyone aware of their existance in either the Trent, Derwent or Dove in the Derby area?

Derby Telegraph reported last week the complete destruction of native crayfish through disease locally!

They didn't mention signals.
 
B

Big Swordsy :O)

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No but a trapping experiment may prove interesting.
 
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