brown dog Posted July 22, 2011 Report Share Posted July 22, 2011 Signal crayfish are to our native crayfish what the grey squirrel is to the red. Anyone any experience of cooking and eating them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davy Posted July 22, 2011 Report Share Posted July 22, 2011 Yes, great with lemon juice on toast. No doubt there are better ways to eat them but it worked for me. Edit - forgot to say they were boiled/simmered for a 3-4 minutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zaitsev Posted July 22, 2011 Report Share Posted July 22, 2011 Signal crayfish are to our native crayfish what the grey squirrel is to the red. Anyone any experience of cooking and eating them? Yes, ate loads of them when in Suffolk. You ought to purge them before boiling them though as otherwise there is potential for nasties in their gut. Some signal males are pretty big so tailor your cooking times to them (i.e 5 mins or so for the bigger guys. They go nicely red when cooked as do crabs etc. Eat like you would lobster or langoustine etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brown dog Posted July 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2011 How do you purge them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TC Posted July 22, 2011 Report Share Posted July 22, 2011 20 or so cooked ones in the fridge ready to shell now :-) I leave them in clean water overnight then just drop them in to boiling water 5 or so at a time - 5 mins for the big ones 3 for the small. The gap opening between the tail and the carapace is a good indicator they are cooked then drop them in to cold water to stop the cooking process or the hot shell will continue to cook the meat. The amount of tail meat does not seem to vary a huge amount between the large and small chaps but good meat in the claws of the monsters. enjoy! Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deerman Posted July 24, 2011 Report Share Posted July 24, 2011 With lobsters, I usually put them in fresh water for about 15 minutes. They empty their stomachs so you get better a better taste after cooking them. As for signals, the ones I have caught, I cook them fresh and just de-vain them after cooked and before eating them, the say way you do with large prawns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orka Akinse Posted July 24, 2011 Report Share Posted July 24, 2011 I've never really tried them, I thought you needed a licence to trap them or is it simply the case I have been missing out again? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orka Akinse Posted July 24, 2011 Report Share Posted July 24, 2011 Ok someone wanna tell me why everything has gone yellow???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davy Posted July 24, 2011 Report Share Posted July 24, 2011 I've never really tried them, I thought you needed a licence to trap them or is it simply the case I have been missing out again? As far as I know it is not only legal but probably encouraged as they are not native to this country, a small wire cage with some bits of fish in it hung in still water from a suitable tree works very nicely, hang a few traps out and call back in the morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zaitsev Posted July 24, 2011 Report Share Posted July 24, 2011 Sadly you do need a licence (technically) the EA issue them. No one I know who fished crayfish ever had one... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orka Akinse Posted July 24, 2011 Report Share Posted July 24, 2011 As far as I know it is not only legal but probably encouraged as they are not native to this country, a small wire cage with some bits of fish in it hung in still water from a suitable tree works very nicely, hang a few traps out and call back in the morning. See here Davy: http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/recreation/fishing/119096.aspx I think you need a fishing licence also Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davy Posted July 24, 2011 Report Share Posted July 24, 2011 See here Davy: http://www.environme...ing/119096.aspx I think you need a fishing licence also Well I never knew that, thanks for the heads up. <-- That is supposed to be an embarrassed smilie! In the North of Spain (Basque region) they use them as bait for fishing as well as eating which is where I first came across them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brown dog Posted July 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2011 My reading on it is that there's a loophole; the law only describes 'trapping' (apparently the licence for that is a no cost bureaucratic hurdle); it doesn't describe the 'string and bacon' approach. Trapping without licence = offence. Nothing else is described. No trap; no offence. Anyway, think I'll be ringing up for a licence! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Posted July 27, 2011 Report Share Posted July 27, 2011 if anyone knows where to get them in the scottish borders please let me know. I want to try tandoori crayfish! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davy Posted July 27, 2011 Report Share Posted July 27, 2011 Interactive map of Signal Crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus) http://data.nbn.org.uk/interactive/map.jsp?srchSp=148049 Double click on it to zoom in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orka Akinse Posted July 27, 2011 Report Share Posted July 27, 2011 My reading on it is that there's a loophole; the law only describes 'trapping' (apparently the licence for that is a no cost bureaucratic hurdle); it doesn't describe the 'string and bacon' approach. Trapping without licence = offence. Nothing else is described. No trap; no offence. Anyway, think I'll be ringing up for a licence! Trust you!! You are technically right but.... I would have a robust alternative defence and catching crabs wouldn't wash in a freshwater river. I don't think doing it with string and bacon would free you from the need for a fishing licence and being stupid is not a defence. i.e. I was catchin crabs Mr EVA man so it isn't fishing although I Agree it LOOKS like I am fishing with this string in the water. Happy days!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
re'M'ington Posted July 28, 2011 Report Share Posted July 28, 2011 Sadly you do need a licence (technically) the EA issue them. No one I know who fished crayfish ever had one... They have dropped the need for licences now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orka Akinse Posted July 28, 2011 Report Share Posted July 28, 2011 Martin This is very confusing. Would you mind listing your reference that says no licence needed please? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_R Posted July 30, 2011 Report Share Posted July 30, 2011 http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/recreation/fishing/38045.aspx You need a consent form as outlined in the link above. It is not the same as a license as such, but you need to satisfy certain requirements. I did this a long time ago, and back then there was no mention of tags as per the link. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
264wm Posted September 7, 2011 Report Share Posted September 7, 2011 I believe that it is illegal to remove them from the area you caught them alive, you must kill them immediately you have caught them! I would imagine the fisheries board coming down very heavily if you got caught transporting them.. Loch Ken at Castle douglas is riddled with them.. regards 264 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orka Akinse Posted December 2, 2012 Report Share Posted December 2, 2012 Anyone have any joy last summer with this? I was thinking of giving it a go next summer? so need to start thinking about getting traps made etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbal Posted December 3, 2012 Report Share Posted December 3, 2012 http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/recreation/fishing/38045.aspx You need a consent form as outlined in the link above. It is not the same as a license as such, but you need to satisfy certain requirements. I did this a long time ago, and back then there was no mention of tags as per the link. For gourmet varminters,there is always the big Crayfish Shoot in,I think, Louisiana.Sounds like fun,if they are in a decent size barrel.Have you been Vince? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8alligator Posted February 27, 2015 Report Share Posted February 27, 2015 Really good eating use them just as U would prawns and so on, makes for an awesome Thai green curry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bewsh Posted July 18, 2015 Report Share Posted July 18, 2015 Soak them well and ideally only cook the tails The bodies tend to turn the water yellow/brown and can taint the flesh Only worth eating the tails anyway Personally I would soak, cut the tails off and shell them and use them like a fresh prawn. Catch as many of the bastewards as you can Used to work for the NRA/EA and I don't know any licensing people who would ever prosecute anyone for trapping or catching Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cowsmart Posted August 12, 2015 Report Share Posted August 12, 2015 I believe that it is illegal to remove them from the area you caught them alive, you must kill them immediately you have caught them! I would imagine the fisheries board coming down very heavily if you got caught transporting them.. Loch Ken at Castle douglas is riddled with them.. regards 264 It's illegal to remove them in Scotland dead or alive...but I have eaten some from loch ken and they were pretty good....unsure how I came into possession of them.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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