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Beche De Mer
(Sea Cucumber - Trepang)

Cooking Balmain Bugs:

Cooking and Preparing Bugs (Slipper Lobsters)
The meat of bugs, found only in the tail, has a medium-to-strong flavour. They can be bought as frozen meat or whole.

They are best prepared by poaching, steaming, barbecuing or grilling. As bugs provide good presentation and marry well with other seafood, they are excellent for cold seafood platters served with a light lemon mayonnaise, aioli or dill vinaigrette.

When cut down the centre lengthways, bugs will grill and barbecue beautifully over a high heat. They are superb served on their own, with the above-mentioned dressings or pesto, or as a warm salad with fresh asparagus and parmesan. To prevent discolouration of the flesh, sprinkle with a little lemon or lime.

The flesh of the bug is an ideal, flavoursome filling for meats, such as an alternative in carpetbag steak or with veal, asparagus and hollandaise (the veal oscar). Bug meat is also an appetising additive to fish cakes served with sweet chilli coriander.

To Buy
Sold whole, sometimes live (and frozen whole, tails and as meat). Look for brightly coloured, firm, intact, lustrous shells, without any discolouration, particularly at joints, and a pleasant fresh sea smell.

To Store
Wrap whole Bugs or meat in plastic wrap or place in an airtight container. Refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months below -18ºC.

To Cook
Average yield is 30%, the edible flesh is only in the tail and larger Bugs have a lower yield due to their head size. Has a medium-strong flavour (more ‘fishy’ than Moreton Bay Bugs), low oiliness and dry, firm flesh. To remove meat from shells, either split Bug lengthwise, or, to keep meat in one piece, remove head, turn tail over and cut down either side of the tail using kitchen scissors, peel underside of tail back and remove meat. Do not recook cooked Bugs, eat cold in salads or with a dipping sauce. The most humane, and easiest, method of killing any crustacean is to chill it in the freezer for about 45 minutes until it becomes insensible (but not long enough to freeze it). Once chilled, it should be killed promptly by splitting in half or dropping into rapidly boiling water. See www.rspca.org.au for more details.

Cooking Methods
Steam, poach, deep-fry, pan-fry, stir-fry, grill, barbecue. Excellent cold as part of a seafood platter. To BBQ, cut in half lengthwise and cook in the shell. The firm flesh holds together well in soups, curries and casseroles and can be cubed for kebabs.

 

Nutritional Information For every 100 grams raw product for Bug meat. Kilojoules 399 (95 calories) Cholesterol 121 mg Sodium 185 g Total fat (oil) 0.8 g Saturated fat 36% of total fat Monounsaturated fat 23% of total fat Polyunsaturated fat 41% of total fat Omega-3, EPA 39 mg Omega-3, DHA 49 mg Omega-6, AA 45 mg

Recipes Lobster, Bugs & Slipper Lobster Recipes  from How To Cook Fish & Seafood Exporters, Importers & Processors, Wholesale & Agents of Balmain Bugs

See Also:
Balmain Bug (Ibacus peronii) Photographs and Information
Cooking Balmain Bugs | Recipes Using Slipper Lobster
Commercial Fishery for Balmain Bug (Ibacus peronii)