P
Spanish · San Sebastián
Txangurro a la donostiarra
San Sebastián's celebration dish — live spider crab (txangurro) is cooked, disassembled, and the meat combined with a slow sofrito of tomato, onion, brandy, and txakoli, then returned to the shell and gratinéed under breadcrumbs. The empty carapace becomes both presentation vessel and flavour catalyst — the briny interior seasoning everything cooked within it. This is the Basque approach to luxury: the ingredient is the ingredient. No cream, no masking sauces. The coral and the interior juices are scraped clean and incorporated into the sofrito. Nothing of value is discarded.
‹Swipe for the next dish›
I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
2
live spider crab (txangurro)
purchased live; reject any sold dead from the display
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
coarse sea salt
to heavily salt the cooking water
Your own market
For the sofrito
1
white onion
finely chopped
Your own market
3
60 ml
txakoli
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
30 ml
brandy or cognac
for flambéing into the sofrito
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
olive oil
Your own market
salt
to taste; the sofrito must not be under-seasoned
Your own market
For the gratin
fine dry breadcrumbs
a thin, even layer only — sufficient to crust, not to absorb
Your own market
Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.
II
The Method
1
Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and season it heavily with coarse sea salt — it should taste of the sea. Lower the live crabs into the water. Cook for 15–18 minutes. Do not exceed this time: the crab will be returned to heat during the gratin stage and will tighten further. Remove the crabs and cool them in the cooking liquid.
2
Once cool enough to handle, disassemble each crab methodically. Lift the carapace free and reserve it as the service vessel. Scrape every trace of coral and interior juices from the shell into a bowl — this is the richest flavour component of the dish and nothing is discarded. Extract all white meat from the body cavities and claws. Keep the coral and juices separate from the white meat. The shell interior should come away clean.
3
Film a wide pan generously with olive oil over a low flame. Add the finely chopped onion and cook slowly, without colouring, until fully softened and sweet — allow no less than 15 minutes. Add the chopped tomato and continue cooking over low heat for a further 15 minutes or more, stirring occasionally, until the sofrito has collapsed into a dense, unified mass with no standing liquid. The sofrito must be seasoned thoroughly at this stage.
From the canon — Sofrito is the foundational flavour base of Spanish and Latin American cooking — a slowly cooked paste or sauce of tomatoes, onions, garlic, and peppers that… Sofrito →
4
Add the brandy or cognac to the sofrito and flambé: tilt the pan away from you and ignite the spirit, or apply a long match. Allow the flames to die entirely before proceeding. Add the txakoli and stir through. This is where the dish lives or dies — the coral and interior juices are now added and stirred into the sofrito until fully incorporated, enriching and binding the sauce. Fold in the white crab meat. Heat gently until the mixture is just combined and warmed through; do not cook aggressively. Taste and adjust seasoning.
5
Spoon the crab mixture back into the reserved carapaces, mounding it neatly. Scatter a thin, even layer of breadcrumbs across the surface — sufficient only to form a crust. Place the filled shells under a very hot grill for 3–4 minutes. The surface should be golden and lightly crisp, not browned through; the breadcrumb is a crust, not a sponge. Serve immediately in the shell.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Live spider crab sourced the morning of cooking from a working harbour or specialist fishmonger; txakoli from a named San Sebastián producer; cognac for the flambé.
02
Estate — Live spider crab from a quality fishmonger with documented live holding tanks; a good Basque txakoli; a reliable brandy.
03
Market — Live spider crab from a reputable market counter sold to order; any dry, acidic white wine in place of txakoli; standard brandy.
04
House — Live brown crab where spider crab is unavailable — structurally sound but milder and less briny; txakoli substituted with a dry, high-acid white wine.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Smell. The sofrito smells sweet and concentrated, not raw or sharp from the tomato — it is ready when the acidic edge has cooked out entirely.
◇Sight. The coral and juices bind into the sofrito as a cohesive, glossy mass — no separation, no pooling liquid.
◇Sight. The gratin surface is uniformly golden and dry to the eye; any pale or damp patches indicate insufficient heat or time under the grill.
◇Touch. The cooked crab, pressed at the thickest part of the claw, yields with only slight resistance after 15–18 minutes — firm but not hard.
◇Where it lives or dies. The coral and interior juices must be scraped completely from the shell and incorporated into the sofrito — their omission reduces the dish to dressed crab; their inclusion makes it txangurro.
Pillar V
Cross-cuisine parallels are part of membership.
The dishes this one teaches you, across the cuisines — on every recipe.
Enter · from $49 a year
VI
What to Pour
The pairing
Fortified wine
From British Columbia
Nothing from British Columbia holds against this yet.
Without alcohol
No pour without alcohol holds against this yet.
Why each one works is part of membership — Enter · from $49 a year →
The whole pairingPillar VII
Origin and lineage are part of membership.
Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
Enter · from $49 a year