Moreton - A Delicious Bug !

I personally love Lobsters. In the US the Maine Lobster above and beyond but I also love the Spiny Lobster (Langoustine), the Norwegian Lobster (Scampi), the Australian Horse Lobster and last but not least a crustacean known as the Moreton Bay Bug. The "Thenus Orientalis" better known as the Moreton Bay Bug or simply Bay Lobster, is a species of slipper lobster found throughout the waters of Australia's north coast, the Indian Ocean and western parts of the Pacific Ocean. The distribution stretches from the east coast of Africa to the Red Sea, southern Asia, China and Japan as well as the Philippines, Indonesia including Australia's Moreton Bay, from which it derives its common name. The Moreton Bug is unusually versatile, and can be prepared in a variety of ways. The meat of the Moreton is found only in the tail and has a sweet and succulent flavour. I personally like to turn them around, simply cut out the belly shell then put a nice amount of herb butter or garlic butter or Cafe De Paris butter directly on the meat, sprinkle a little salt and a few breadcrumbs over the top and just put it under the broiler in the oven under high heat for about 6 minutes. I promise you that you will be blown away and you wont be able to stop eating. To prevent discolouration of the flesh, sprinkle with a little lemon or lime. These, like all the special type of crustaceans are hard to find, but the good fishmongers know how to get it for you. You might order these and give the fish guy a little time to get them in. Anybody that you serve these too will be wowed!