Mmmmm! Cockroach of the sea?

[rworange]

My Google skills are failing me. I had a shellfish called a cucaracha (photo below).

I heard them mentioned, but always assumed that meant lobster. These had a lobster-ish look to them, but they were black and without claws. The meat in the tail was lobster-like, but maybe closer to a langosta.

I turned up the term in my original search "cucaroca del mar" which someone wrote was a tiquilichi
http://sayulita-mexico.com/topic/1727-shrimp-in-sayulita/

"the cucarachas del mar o tiquilichis are very rare ... the process to get them its very similar to the clams, we go to the beach and dig into the sand with your hands, they run very fast and hide again in the wet sand, its fascinating, a delicious meal, we take the shell off and fried them mmm. "

Subsequent searches brought me to the possibility that it might be a chiton, yet it doesn't look like those photos.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiton.

It seems sea cocroach is applied to shellfish worldwide and means lots of different crrustaceans. If anyone has more info on my particular cockroach, it would be appreciated.

Here's a rather cool photo of one type of cucaracha del mer that really does look like a sea roach
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sigfredoamaya/4902181188/

This article which it looks like someone ran thru a translator, has bad English, but actually captures the spirit of this shellfish
http://www.myetymology.com/encycloped...

Have you eaten a shelfish called a cucaracha? Where?

How was your cockroach prepared? We made cockroach soup with other fish added.

[Delucacheesemonger]

Looks like a Morton Bay 'Bug' from eastern Australia. Tastes like lobster and is served simply steamed or boiled.

[small h]

We could rename cockroaches "lobster of behind the stove," and then everyone would want to eat them. World hunger: solved.

[rworange]

You must leave whatever job you have IMMEDIATELY. You could make millions writing upscale restaurant menus and using euphamisms. Real cockroaches would be THE thing to eat and a wild new fad.

Of course, they would need to be free-range, organic roaches ... that is, Raid free.

Had to google and of course someone said roaches taste like chicken. There were a couple of references that they taste like shrimp or prawns. This site says the taste is like apples ... at least the six inch tropical cockroach ... yeah I've seen those ... and they have no fear of people. They will run right at you ... and ... yikes ... after you.
http://scienceray.com/biology/zoology/disgustingly-amazing-facts-about-cockroaches-and-beetles/

Unencyclopedia - the site of misinformation, says they pair well with chianti
http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Cockroach

Sadly for the state of world hunger, this article about the taste of the American cockroach is probably the most credible
http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/ucmrp/news/hissers.html

"“It was a good cookie,” she said, “but as I ate the remaining piece, it didn’t taste right.”

“The raisin had legs. It was an American cockroach. And yes, cockroaches taste the way they smell. That’s the first time I ever came close to losing it.”

"Cockroaches are nasty tasting and probably not very good for you since their fat is packed full of uric acid--pee in disguise.”

“They’re a solid mass of white fat,” she said. “It’s like drinking pee. Why would you want to do that?”

Man, I'm throwing my own topic off topic, but "lobster of behind the stove" really made me laugh.

And still ... in that Google ... I found something that might relate to the cockroach of the sea
http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/...

:The animals usually known as ‘sea roaches’ are the isopods in the genus Ligia. These
crustaceans have a flattened body with long antenna that looks vaguely roach-like and share with roaches the habit of congregating in large numbers (usually under beach debris) and fleeing quickly when their shelter is exposed. It is probably from these traits that the common name ‘sea roach’ is derived."

[redfish62]

I would also guess a species of mantis shrimp. Some species of mantis shrimp can put a hurting on you.

[rworange]

Thanks to both you and Pata_Negra. I'll do some googling on that. Would these srimp be up to a foot long and a few inches wide?

[redfish62]

No I think that is way too big for a Mantis shrimp. Maybe a Slipper Lobster?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slipper_...

[redfish62]

Yeah I think that's it, the Slipper Lobster, compare this pic which is from the top, to the pick you posted which is from the bottom

http://www.alwaysfreshfish.com/9_ounc...

Has the same rounded tail.

[ospreycove]

redfish62,
Isn't that pic you posted a "Shovelnose Lobster"? They are fairly common in the NW area of florida Gulf.

[smaki]

Still think some kind of Gulf of Mexico type lobster without claws and not a shrimp. They have many names. There are different kinds in Florida and around Mexico I've seen diving. When catching, we would put a 'tickle' stick in their hole and they would come out to investigate and we could grab. Very good to eat when not overcooked as get tough like any overcooked shelfish or clam.

[redfish62]

Same critter, they have dozens of names and are found around the world.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slipper_...

[ospreycove]

redfish62, thanks for the info. We got some Scamp off a commercial boat this morning, one of my favorites from the Grouper family.

[smaki]

We used to dive for and eat a lobster without claws in Florida when in season and could. Here are some pictures (sometimes they are very dark in color):
http://underwaterflorida.homestead.co...

[Pata_Negra]

i've had curacha [imported half way across the world to me, in Europe, from the Philippines], made into a rich soup. it does look like a horrific creature. some Philippino food experts shall tell you about it.

the pics you uploaded look like 'mantis shrimp', no? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoplocarida

[Popkin]

Trilobites?! I have fossils that look just like those around here somewhere.....

If they taste sort of like langosta I have GOT to find some......