To Edward and his relatives

A couple of posts ago I introduced you to Edward, a yabby who had been caught in one of the dams on my friend's farm.  As I indicated in that post, there really wasn't enough of Edward for five people to have a taste of, so at the time that post was written Edward had at least one more day to live.  Fortunately (for my taste buds and stomach) but unfortunately (for Edward), luck was with us when we returned to my friend's dams over the next couple of days.

To recap, this is Edward, a freshwater yabby:

Now I'd like to introduce you to Ned.  Ned is actually a cousin of Edward, not a brother, as Ned is a marron, not a yabby.  Marron are one of the largest freshwater crayfish species on earth.  Marron can grow more than 38 cms long, their shells are harder than yabbies, and they range in colour from jet-black to brown or even striped, red and cobalt-blue.

 Marron are considered a luxury product and are the subject of a developing aquaculture industry in some Australian states.  Marron have been introduced to Kangaroo Island where they have been commercially farmed, and marron populations have now established themselves in local waterways.

It's a good thing we were keeping our eye on dinner though, as Ned was bound and determined he was going to escape from the bucket we were keeping him in!

After a couple of days of clearing the traps we put into the dams we had enough for at least an appetizer for the five of us:

As you can see, the first step was to freeze everyone, and then to prepare for cooking the marrons were cut in half.

Ned and his siblings (i.e. the 3 marron) were cooked on the barbeque

while Edward and his sibling (i.e. the 2 yabbies) were boiled.

Regardless of the type and/or cooking method I can tell you that both were DELICIOUS!!!!  Marron tastes a bit like a mild lobster and yabby is an even milder taste again.