In this week’s Straight To The Source food trends column, Tawnya Bahr and Lucy Allon spotlight Fraser Isle Spanner Crab meat, a versatile and sustainable ingredient perfect for spring menus.
In Australia, vibrant, red spanner crabs can be found in sandy, coastal regions, predominantly off the north-eastern coast between Gladstone, Qld, and Ballina, NSW, and they’re in season right now.
The team at Fraser Isle Spanner Crabs based in Mooloolaba, Qld is as passionate about catching these delicacies as they are about preserving their existence.
As the largest spanner crab fishing quota holder, Les and Lynn Apps, and business partner Jason Simpson, have a lot riding on the industry’s sustainability. Their wild catch methods use individual crab tillys (traps) to ensure zero bycatch and all undersized crabs are returned to the ocean unharmed.
Their hauls come from the pristine waters just off Fraser Island, and while demand is high, the time it takes for each crab to reach full maturity is a considerable factor. The notion of slow food in a fast world is very real in this instance as it takes up to fifteen years for each crab to weigh over one kilogram.
The team at Fraser Isle Spanner Crab have spent years perfecting their process to produce hand-picked and packaged crab meat to award-winning results. Their crab meat has a clean, sweet flavour and pairs perfectly with a multitude of ingredients and flavours, making it a versatile addition to Club menus. Available as fresh cooked, frozen cooked and raw frozen, the hard work has been done for you.
Arguably some of the best tasting crab in the world, served in the finest restaurants, the clean, sweet flesh is a true culinary experience that we know Club chefs and their customers will love.
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