Marron, the largest of Australia’s freshwater crayfish, turn a strikingly bright red when cooked and make an impressive BBQ entr茅e or main course served with this simple butter. They can also be cooked under an overhead grill or in a 200ºC oven.
INGREDIENTS:
8 live Marrons (see notes)
125g butter
3 cloves garlic, crushed
½ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
½ cup chopped chives
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Green salad, to serve
Crusty bread, to serve
METHOD:
Melt butter and cook until light brown, add garlic, parsley and chives and cook for a further 2-3 minutes, until butter darkens a little more. Add lemon juice and remove from heat but keep warm.
Halve the Marron (see notes), remove the digestive tract that runs through the meat. The mustard in the head has a strong flavour which some people like, it can also be removed if you prefer. Brush shell and flesh with oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Place Marron on BBQ, shell-side down, for about 3 minutes, until they turn bright red. Then turn and cook flesh side for 1 minute.
Drizzle with herb and garlic butter and serve with a green salad and plenty of crusty bread to mop up the butter.
NOTES:
The easiest and most humane way to kill any crustacean is to chill them in the freezer for 30-60 minutes until they become insensible (but not long enough to freeze them). Once chilled, they should be killed promptly by splitting in half or dropping into rapidly boiling water. See or for more details.
ALTERNATIVE SPECIES:
Bugs, large Prawns, Redclaw, Rock Lobsters, Scampi, Yabby.