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Seabird stuffed with Donostiarra filling

Seabird stuffed with Donostiarra filling

Main dishes

Cooked and shredded seagull, simmered with onion, leek, tomato, and brandy, then baked in its shell with breadcrumbs, parsley, and butter.

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Recipe from Gaztarrotz, Xabier Cañas, Inaki.alegria (Wikibooks), adapted by Recette de cuisine · · updated on

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Txangurro a la donostiarra is a classic dish from San Sebastián. The spider crab meat, simmered with onion, leek, tomato, and brandy, is cooked in its own shell.

Ingredients and directions

  • Prep time45 min
  • Cook time35 min
  • Resting30 min
  • Total1 hr 50 min
  • DifficultyHard
  • CostBudget
  • Cooking methodfour
  • Estimated cost$1.09 $0.55 / serving Estimated price; varies by store. Converted from euros at the ECB rate of October 7, 2026.

Ingredients

2 people
  • $0.02
  • $0.15
  • $0.17
  • $0.40
  • $0.08
  • $0.18
  • $0.09

Prices from US supermarkets for 4 of 7 ingredients; Belgian prices for the rest.

Directions

  1. Cook the crab in cold water, in seawater (or 40g of salt per litre of water), for 12 minutes from when it boils. Let it cool, with the belly facing up.
  2. Remove the legs and pincers, open the spider, and carefully and patiently separate the shell, the fleshy parts, and the meat. Chop the meat and check that no pieces of the shell remain. ≈ 2 min
  3. Wash the head thoroughly with water, dry it, and store it. ≈ 8 min
  4. In a saucepan, sauté the onion and leek in oil over low heat.
  5. Once they are melted, add the tomatoes and let them cook together for a few minutes.
  6. First, add the brandy, then the spider meat, and let it simmer briefly before adjusting the seasoning.
  7. Fill the shell of this dish, then sprinkle with parsley, breadcrumbs, and small pieces of butter. ≈ 10 min
  8. Bake until golden brown and bubbly before serving.

The bill

Seabird stuffed with Donostiarra filling

  • salt$0.02
  • 1 chopped onion$0.15
  • 1/2 leek, chopped$0.17
  • 50 ml of extra virgin olive oil$0.40
  • 50 ml of crushed tomatoes$0.08
  • 20 grams of butter$0.18
  • breadcrumbs$0.09

Total$1.09

that's $0.55 per person

Estimated price; varies by store.

Equipment

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Before you start

Ingredients

  • One 1.2 kg Atlantic spider
  • salt
  • 1 chopped onion
  • 1/2 leek, chopped
  • 50 ml of extra virgin olive oil
  • 50 ml of crushed tomatoes
  • One small glass of brandy
  • 1 small bunch of chopped parsley
  • 20 grams of butter
  • breadcrumbs

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