Potted crab with warm brown toast

Name: Potted crab with warm brown toast
Total time: 25 min
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 150g butter; 250g white and brown crab meat; 1 tsp ground mace; 1 tsp cayenne pepper; 1 lemon, zest and juice; 1 tbsp chives, chopped; 4 slices brown bread

Sweet crab meat set under a layer of spiced butter, a Dorset coast starter to spread on warm toast.

Time25 min
LevelEasy
Costabout £1.36 a head

Cost is worked out from Aldi and Tesco shelf prices in October 2026. Your shop and brands will differ.

4 servings

Ingredients

Tick what you need to buy. It goes on your shopping list.

150 gbutter
250 gwhite and brown crab meat
1 tspground mace
1 tspcayenne pepper
1lemonzest and juice
1 tbspchiveschopped
4slices brown bread

Method

1
Melt the butter slowly in a small pan. Skim off the white foam, then pour the clear yellow butter into a jug, leaving the milky bit behind.
2
Mix the crab with the mace, cayenne, lemon zest, a squeeze of juice and the chives. Season with black pepper.
3
Pack the crab into 4 small ramekins and press down firmly.
4
Pour the clarified butter over each pot to seal the top. Chill for at least 1 hour.
60 min
5
Toast the bread, cut into fingers and serve with the pots and lemon wedges.

Double check before you cook. Recipes can contain mistakes. Any diet labels come from the ingredients as written in this recipe and are a guide, not a guarantee. Always check every ingredient and the packet label for allergens and cross contamination, and ask your doctor or dietitian what is right for you, especially with coeliac disease, diabetes or a serious allergy. This is not medical advice.