Cromer crabs are small, sweet and caught a short way offshore by boats that still launch from the beach. They are at their best from late spring to early autumn, and the only real rule is to eat them as close to the sea as you can.
Buy it dressed
Unless you enjoy an afternoon with a mallet, buy your crab dressed. The white meat from the claws and legs will be piled at one end of the shell and the richer brown meat at the other. Both matter. The contrast is the point.
Keep it simple
Brown bread and good salted butter. A wedge of lemon. Black pepper. A spoonful of mayonnaise if you must. Anything more elaborate gets in the way of the crab.
Eat it as close to the sea as you can.
Find the right bench
The seafront benches facing the pier are the classic choice. On windy days, the shelter of the old lanes will do. Our own preference is to carry it home and eat it on the terrace with a glass of English sparkling wine.
At the house
In season, the kitchen will put a dressed crab in your picnic basket if you ask the evening before. Out of season, we will point you towards smoked fish along the coast road instead.
