Langoustine lesson.

Time to take advantage of the boats and their summer range of shellfish landings - you'll need a pick for the spider crab and a few tips to make getting that succulent meat extracted from those Dublin Bay Prawn (langoustine) tails.......... 

after putting the whole langoustine into salted boiling water for not more than three minutes whip them out on a plate and allow everyone at the table the fun of picking their own tail meat - first step is to hold the whole langoustine upside down as in the picture above, with the finger and thumb of the left hand firmly squeezing the first segment, rock the tail with the right hand from side to side - crack-crack...........

with the thumb of the right hand, press down on the inside of the tail - this will help release the tail meat........

still holding the head by the first segment, pull of the tail shell from the head leaving the meat intact...........

for those who enjoy not missing out all the goodness on offer, use a pick to remove the carapace contents (or, in good company, just suck them clean)........

best keep an eye on the table as the spread is irresistible to all it seems.