Boats are in and it’s time to crack a crab or two

It was three days after Christmas and the first day of decent weather in a week.

The good news to that scenario was that the crab boats, which had been tied up at the docks during the storm, were finally leaving Newport Bay in search of our favorite winter crustacean.

They’d return to harbor in 18 hours. But, of course, our crab feast was in eight hours. So we renamed it a no-crab feast and went to Plan B: appetizers and a big salad.

Happily, it’s been smooth sailing – relatively speaking – since those last days of December. Supplies of fresh local Dungeness crab have been good. Crab season along the Oregon coast began on Dec. 1 and will continue through Aug. 14.

The peak harvest, however, according to the Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission (www.oregondungeness.org) occurs during the first eight weeks of the season, with up to 75 percent of the annual production landed during this period. So the next few weeks are prime crab fest time.

Only mature male crabs measuring 61/4 inches across the shell are harvested. Juvenile males and all females are returned to the sea to insure healthy stocks for future harvests.

Even so, the Dungeness crab industry in Oregon is a cyclical business. Reasons for the fluctuations that range from as much as 33 million pounds to as low as 3.2 million aren’t completely known.

Some biologists speculate that the crabs themselves contribute to the cycle because of their cannibalistic nature. But we won’t go there.

For size, Dungeness falls between its East Coast cousin, the blue crab, and the West Coast Alaskan king crab. On average, the Dungeness weighs in from 1 1/2 to 31/2 pounds, whereas its Alaska buddy can come as large as 20 pounds, with a leg span of nearly 6 feet. The genteel blue crab rarely grows larger than a pound.

Although in the middle size-wise, I believe Dungeness is the hands-down winner for flavor and texture. Only during its molting season, from August through October, is the Dungeness less than perfect. After shedding its shell, it absorbs large amounts of water, which dilutes its flavor and underminds its texture.

But that’s nothing to be concerned with right now, while fresh, robust, thick-shelled specimens abound. So ready up the crab pot. Crab Feed Season has begun.

The No. 1 best way to buy crab: Dungeness crab is never better than when it has just come from the sea. A live crab fresh from its habitat is in the ideal state for cooking. Short of those circumstances, all crab buying, cooking and eating involve some compromise. Which leads to …

The second best way to buy crab: Buying crabs kept alive in water tanks is a close second, so check out your local fish market and see if they’re stocking live crabs. Since this is an extremely popular time of year for crab feeds, it’s always a good idea to phone ahead and place your order or to at least check and see how their supply is holding up. If you fancy a trip to the coast, then drop by your favorite bay front where the crabbing ships are dropping off their loads.

The third best way to buy crab: Cooked crab is your final option, but it’s a frustrating one because you can get burned from a quality point of view if the crabs aren’t fresh. Here in Corvallis, I know that my local fish shop cooks their live crabs right there on the premises, so I know they’re fresh. But I steer clear of places that can’t tell you where – or even when – their cooked crabs were cooked. When buying cooked crab, don’t be shy. Smell it! There should not be a pronounced fishy odor.

First of all, when it comes to obtaining live crab, whether you head over to the coast or seek it out closer to home, don’t forget to bring along a cooler or really sturdy box.

Once home, as long as they’re kept well-chilled (and out of melting ice, because they’ll drown), Dungeness crabs will stay lively for many hours. My niece and her boyfriend took four crabs along on their 28-hour roadtrip from Corvallis to Salt Lake City last January, and the crabs were still frisky at journey’s end.

As for cooking, Harry Daughters (of Harry &Annette’s Fresh Fish in Corvallis) highly recommends cleaning the crabs before cooking them, because the cooking time is less, which means the meat will be even more sweet and tender. But for cooks who are a tad squeamish with this approach, which I’m about to describe, skip the next paragraph.

For those still with me, to clean your crabs before cooking, pry off the shells, break the crabs in half (they’re killed instantly), shake or rinse out the viscera, pluck out the gills, and immediately drop into a gallon or more (figure on at least 2 gallons for 4 crabs) of boiling salted water (4 heaping tablespoons of salt per gallon of water). After the water returns to a boil, cook for 10 to 12 minutes.

Another approach: For those who don’t want to spend that much time around a live crab – and who can blame you? – the preferred approach is to drop them while still kicking into that boiling salted water, then when the water returns to a boil, cook for 20 to 30 minutes, depending on their size. After cooking, clean the crab by removing the back shell, rinse out the viscera and pull off the gill filaments (these will be very obvious to you when you get around to doing it).

Once the crabs have cooked, cool slightly until they can be handled, then pull all of the legs from the main body, and, using anything that can be viewed as a kitchen mallet – such as a metal ice cracker or meat tenderizer, or even a rolling pin – whack the crabs in several spots to loosen the shells for easy removal of the meat.

Pile the cracked legs and bodies into big bowls, set them on the table, along with any dipping sauces you’re serving, plus, perhaps, some melted butter and fresh lemons, plus a big ol’ tossed green salad, and let friends and family have at it. For the uninitiated, demonstrate to them how the pointy end of a claw can be used to pry crabmeat from the far reaches of legs and body cavities.

How many people per crab? The general rule around our house is two people per crab, unless the crab is smaller than 1 1/2 pounds, at which point, you should play it safe and have one crab per person. Plus, for groups larger than four, I always throw in one extra crab “for the pot.”

This is a wonderful alternative to the classic red seafood cocktail sauce. But actually, I like to serve it alongside the red sauce so folks can sort of mingle the two together if desired.

2tablespoons olive oil

3tablespoons minced yellow onion

11/4cups peeled, seeded, and chopped tomato (use Roma style tomatoes, if possible)

2cups mayonnaise

1teaspoon commercially prepared or homemade pesto (more to taste)

1tablespoon brandy (optional)

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a small skillet. Add the onion and gently saute until the onion turns a light golden brown and is lightly caramelized. This will take about 10 minutes. Don’t scorch the onions by cooking over too high of a heat. Add the tomatoes, salt, and pepper, and adjust the temperature up to about medium-high and continue simmering until the tomato mixture has softened, and all of the liquid released by the tomatoes has cooked away, creating a thick mixture, which will take 15 to 20 minutes. Scrape the mixture into a mixing bowl and set aside until cool.

Mix in the mayonnaise, pesto and brandy, and adjust seasonings, adding additional pesto, salt and pepper as needed. Chill until ready to serve. May be made and refrigerated up to a week ahead.

This is simple and delicions.

1cup seafood cocktail sauce

3tablespoons butter

In a microwavable bowl, combine the cocktail sauce with the butter. Loosely cover with plastic wrap to prevent splatters and microwave on high just until the butter is mostly melted. Whisk it into the hot cocktail sauce and serve.

Here’s our family favorite dressing for a crab feed. Set it out alongside a big tossed green salad so folks can mingle it with their crab, along with melted butter and fresh lemon juice, of course.

1cup mayonnaise

1/4cup chili sauce (it’s like ketchup, only spicier)

2tablespoons finely chopped green or red sweet bell pepper

2tablespoons finely chopped yellow onion

2tablespoons chopped parsley

1/8teaspoon cayenne pepper

1teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1teaspoon prepared horseradish

1hard-cooked egg, finely chopped

In a small bowl, stir together the mayonnaise and chili sauce. Add the peppers, onion, parsley, cayenne, Worcestershire, horseradish and chopped egg. Blend this mixture thoroughly and then taste to determine if it needs additional chili sauce, Worcestershire sauce, or horseradish. Use immediately or cover and refrigerate for up to 1 week. If the dressing seems a bit thick, you can stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons of milk.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

Seasonal tossed greens with vegetables and creamy blue cheese dressing

The blue cheese dressing is one of my favorites. It has just enough tang, while not over-powering the creamy blue cheese flavor.

10-12cups mixed salad greens

12mushrooms sliced

6-10green onions, including some tender green tops, sliced

3-4ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges and drained

1cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded, and sliced

1each red and green sweet bell pepper, cored, seeded and sliced into rings or strips

Creamy blue cheese dressing (recipe follows)

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Place a bowl of the dressing alongside with a ladle so people can drizzle on the dressing over the greens.

Creamy blue cheese dressing

1cup mayonnaise

1/2cup buttermilk

1/2cup sour cream

2tablespoons red wine vinegar

1teaspoon Dijon-style mustard

1/2teaspoon salt

1/4teaspoon white pepper

1cup crumbled blue cheese

In a bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, buttermilk, sour cream, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper. Stir in the cheese, cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Makes about 3 cups of dressing.

Adapted from “The Big Book of Potluck,” by Maryanna Vollstedt.

Jan Roberts-Dominguez is a Corvallis, Ore., food writer, cookbook author and artist. Readers can contact her by e-mail at janrd@proaxis.com.