On Fri, 18 Nov 2005 05:45:18 -0600, "jmcquown"
> wrote:

>Kathy in NZ wrote:
>> I'm after suggestions that don't involve taking the meat out of the
>> shell and incorporating them into another dish. I'm having a casual
>> barbecue tomorrow night and thought to serve them as an entree.
>>
>Well then, just steam or boil them. You'll want plenty of napkins, melted
>butter for dipping the meat in. You'll need crab crackers (like nut
>crackers) and picks for your guests to get the meat from the shells and a
>bucket for your guests to put the shells in as they crack and pick If I
>were you, I'd set the table with a paper cloth under which was an oilcloth
>or plastic. This could get very messy! But YUM!
>
>Jill
>
Thanks Jill (and others)

Yes it was messy, but delicious, and I was surprised how much meat was
in the bodies, much easier to get at than I expected and absolutely
delicious.

In the end I made stir-fry chilli crabs using the wok burner of the
barbecue. I won't use that particular recipe again without refining it
as the sauce was too heavy on tomato sauce, but the concept was great
and the crabs were fantastic, even though they *were* frozen, raw
blue swimmer crabs (from India).

Here's a pic of the final dish.
http://tinypic.com/fxgw9x.jpg

Kathy in NZ