Frequently asked questions about stocked impoundment permits

One of the best spots I've found for prolific red claw, is the dam at Emerald, Qld...

I'm very much a Red Claw lover .... Love catching them, Like cleaning them, Love cooking them & Love eating them.

Most of us are aware that they are native to the Gulf rivers and have a bag limit up there.  But they are an introduced species in South East Queensland where they are treated as 'vermin' with no bag limit & no return to the waterways.   The limit of 4 traps per person however applies along with the standard trap regulations relating to mesh size & marking.

Technique makes light of the task of preparation ..

- Cleaning .. Wear gardening gloves & twist off the head.  Use a pair of long nose pliers to twist off the center of the three tails & gently pull out the black 'vein'.

- Storing  ..  Rinse once or twice in very salty water ....

If you wish to shell them before packaging, LIGHTLY blanch them & cool in clean salty water.  Press the heel of your hand  firmly on the side or back of the shell to                           crack it.  Use thumbs & forefingers to exert outwards pressure along the sides of the body to crack it open & then extract the flesh with a table fork.  Some people use                   kitchen scissors to cut along the inside edges of the shell to expose the flesh.

I prefer to store them 'green'  ie without blanching or shelling.  The flesh is very difficult to remove unless first blanched or frozen.

In any case loosely fill zip lock bags with the 'de tailed' red claw.  Gently immerse the open bag to just below the top  in a bucket of clean salty water allowing a little to                 enter the bag.  This action is designed to expel air from the bag before sealing.

I freeze them for up to 3 months.

Cooking ....  I often serve them as a starter/entree at our BBQs where they are always eagerly consumed.

 A favorite recipe is to heat garlic & chilli jam in a cast iron frypan with olive oil and butter.   Halve  the 'in shell' red claw length ways.  I use a cleaver. Cook for a                           minute on the flesh side & then turn for another minute or so until the shell turns red.  Sprinkle with finely chopped parsley & ground parmeson cheese.  Adding a little                     cream to the pan produces a fantastic sauce.  I usually serve them in lettuce leaf cups or just in the pan with tongs & lots of paper towels.

edit ..  Sorry forgot to include lashings of sweet chilli sauce in with the garlic & chilli

 The flesh is easily extracted with a fork starting at the tail end.

Cooking shelled blanched red claw -  Be careful not to over cook them or they will be tough.  Do the same as above but add a fair bit of cream during the cooking.

A friend prefers using the 3 cheeses sauce mix with the cream instead of the chilli & garlic.

After freezing & thawing the flesh can be extracted from the split shell using a fork.

In fact you can substitute red claw for prawn in almost any recipe.  Blanched peeled red claw tossed in salt & lime juice in a salad in great too.

-- Edited by Cupie on Monday 5th of May 2014 08:20:27 PM

The old yabbie. Great tucker.

I've been catching and eating them for over 60 years . Not quite as advanced as you are Cupie. Just boil them and shell them straight away.

Don't use gloves, pliers, scissors or any other utensils, just the old fingers.

Freeze for up to 2 months and cook them with whatever takes your fancy . Only enough to heat them as they can get a bit tough.

We go to Fairbairn Dam @ Emerald twice a year, we only use good quality dog biscuits and get 100's 

We freeze them in zip lock bags - no blanching, just de-head and de-vein.

Regarding using after they have been frozen, I just cut the tails in half with kitchen scissors and pull the meat out.

Onto the cooking and eating, we roll them in Salt and Pepper Seasoning ( Tandaco brand )  from Woolies / Coles, and lightly cook them in a little spray Bran oil in the wok or fry pan.

Beautiful