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Meet the marron

Listen up, seafood fiends: There is a tasty crustacean you haven’t yet gotten your hands on

By

Phin Wong

Meet the marron

Listen up, seafood fiends: There is a tasty crustacean you haven’t yet gotten your hands on in South Australia Words: Phin Wong Singaporeans have never met a crustacean we didn’t like. On second thought, this is probably a more accurate statement: Singaporeans have never liked a crustacean enough to not eat it. That Sebastian was adorable but if the Little Mermaid were Singaporean, that little crab would be covered in salted egg sauce before he was done with the first stanza of Under The Sea. Well, maybe not the first stanza. It would take some time deciding how we’d like it better under the sea: Butter crab, chilli crab, crab bee hoon, black pepper crab, white pepper crab, cream cheese crab, steamed crab, fried crab, grilled crab, cold crab, crab porridge, crab dumpling, crab fried rice … Sing it again, Sebastian. We need a little more time. And that’s

Marron are the largest freshwater crayfish in Western Australia, where they are indigenous. They were introduced to Kangaroo Island in South Australia around 40 years ago where they are now farmed commercially at a handful of businesses such as Andermel Marron.

John Melbourne, owner of Andermel Marron Proprietor John Melbourne set up shop here in 1997 after taking over an old sheep farm. His farm now produces around 5,000 tonnes of marron a year. The marron is a fascinating, pre-historic looking creature. Usually dark brown or jet-black, it pretty much looks like the lovechild of a regular crayfish and one of the aliens Sigourney Weaver just can’t seem to be rid of.

“The males have wider claws,” Melbourne tells me at the farm, before flipping a live example over. “And they have two willies.” I stare for a while but decide I’m being terribly rude. “There’s a difference both in the flesh and taste of lobster and marron,” explains Melbourne. “In a sea lobster, the meat comes out in chunks. The flesh of marron is very fine and beautiful, and it doesn’t come away in chunks. You’ve got to cut it like it’s a nice piece of meat.” “In terms of taste, the marron is a little bit sweeter. They say the smaller the marron, the slightly sweeter they are. I suppose many things are like that when they’re young and fresh.” It takes three years for marron to grow to get to the size we can eat them, says Melbourne, so it’s a bit of a pricey delicacy around these parts — although it’s still much cheaper than.

Marron Café serves up several ways to enjoy the critter. There’s an oven-baked offering with chilli and lime butter served with a seasonal salad and rice (AUS$40). And if you like your pasta, there’s the splendidly named Marron’ara (AUS$38) with grilled tiger prawns, scallops and linguine tossed in a honey chilli cherry tomato sauce, topped with marron, of course.

I recommend doing away with the carbohydrate distractions and go straight for the Pochars Platter (AUS$92 for two): Oven-baked marron, scallops, Sze Chuan spiced prawns and salt & pepper squid. It all comes with warm herb & garlic ciabatta bread, smoked barramundi & wasabi dip with crackers, seasonal salad with aniseed myrtle salad dressing and —rather superfluously, in my seafood-obsessed opinion — fresh fruit skewers.

And wash it all down with a bottle of sauvignon blanc from their on-site vineyard for only AUS$30 a bottle. That’s what we’d usually pay for two glasses of wine in Singapore. Visitors to Andermel Marron can head into the holding sheds to check out the marron up close and learn their life cycle and the farm’s eco-conscious ways. Or you could just go straight into Marron Café and eat them. Andermel Marron is located on Harriet Rd in the Heartland of Kangaroo Island. Head to andermel.com to find out more. For more on the best food and drinks in South Australia, visit todayonline.com/southaustralia

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