In Denmark, the most common crab species is Brown Crab, which is caught in the North Sea (which, funny enough, is the sea along the Danish west coast). Getting the meat out is a lot of work, and crab is expensive, so it is not an everyday dish, but something to indulge in on weekends and for special occasions. Contrary to many other countries, in Denmark, we only eat the claws, not the body of the crab. In earlier days, it was common for fishermen to just break off the claw and throw the body of the crab back out in the sea where it would starve to death. So cruel! Luckily, this is now forbidden, and fishermen are only allowed to catch the whole crab.
I prefer the crab as natural as possible, just cooked in water with salt and dill, and served on top of a slice of toasted white bread with a squeeze of fresh lemon. We have fresh homegrown lemon at my parents’ place right now. They are from a lemon tree that I got, while I was living in Copenhagen, but that I sent in foster care with my parents when I was moving abroad. As you can see, it’s been thriving, and there are so many lemons now, we have troubles finding use for all of them.
