Genuine crab lovers know that in typical years our craving for fresh and local crab can be satisfied beginning the first of December.
Commercial crab season for Washington, Oregon and California opens. Crabbing boats head out to sea and return with thousands and thousands of lively and oh-so-crabby crustaceans. Crab feeds ensue, and through New Year’s Day, the world seems a better place.
But as all genuine crab-lovers know, this was not a typical year. First, the season was delayed so the crabs could grow into their freshly molted shells and get a little bit meatier. Even through Christmas, which is when the crabbing industry is usually booming, crab pots remained empty.
But the crabs grew, by George. So, right before New Year’s, commercial crabbers received the thumbs up from the industry regulators. However, pricing and weather issues interfered. Finally, the crabbers and processors reached a mutually acceptable price, so on Jan. 7 boats were heading out to sea.
Of course, up until only a few days ago, storm after storm kept sending all but the most seaworthy boats high-tailing it for calm waters. Availability was a day-by-day issue. Only in the past two weeks have I confidently been able to declare, “Hooray! We’ve got crab!”
But we do. We finally do. So ready up the cocktail sauce. Crab feed season has begun.
First of all, when it comes to obtaining live crab, whether you head down to the docks 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 live crabs along on their 26-hour road trip from Corvallis, Ore., to Salt Lake City last week, and the crabs were still frisky at journey’s end.
As for cooking live crabs, my favorite Corvallis crab expert, Harry Daughters of Harry &Annette’s Fish Market, highly recommends cleaning the crabs before cooking them. 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 in ice water 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 melted butter and fresh lemons, and a big ol’ tossed green salad with a side of Louis dressing (recipe follows), 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 crab meat from the far reaches of legs and body cavities.
Yet-another approach: Buy your crabs already cooked. Most fish markets offer this option. Just make sure it was cooked on the same day of purchase so you can enjoy the freshest and sweetest flavor.
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.”
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.
A delicious combination of melted butter and cocktail sauce. The butter tames the zesty cocktail sauce, which makes it a much more compatible and subtle partner to our fabulous Dungeness crab.
2cups seafood cocktail sauce
1/2cup (1 cube) butter
Combine the cocktail sauce and butter in a small saucepan (or microwaveable container), and heat through over medium-high heat (or in the microwave) until the butter has melted and the sauce is hot. Whisk to combine the butter more thoroughly into the cocktail sauce. Serve while hot.
Makes 21/2 cups.
This makes enough sauce for three large Dungeness crabs.
1cup coarsely chopped green onions (all of the white and pale green portions)
1/2cup coarsely chopped Italian parsley
3tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice
2teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2teaspoon red pepper sauce (such as Tabasco)
2cups mayonnaise
1-3large (about 2 pounds or greater) whole Dungeness crabs, cooked, cleaned, and cracked
Place all of the ingredients into a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Scrape into a bowl and chill thoroughly. Serve alongside the prepared crab.
Makes about 3 cups of sauce.
This is a great salad to bring to a crab feed, and is one of Portland chef Cory Schreiber’s house specialties at Wildwood.
1small head Savoy cabbage (Napa cabbage is a decent substitute)
2carrots, peeled and coarsely grated
1small red onion, cut in half and thinly sliced lengthwise
1/4cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4cup mayonnaise
1/4cup red wine vinegar
1tablespoon fennel seeds, toasted and coarsely ground (see note below)
3/4teaspoon salt
1/2teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Halve the cabbage lengthwise and cut out the core. Cut the cabbage into thin crosswise slices. In a large bowl, combine the cabbage, carrots, onion, and parsley. In a small bowl, blend the mayonnaise, vinegar, fennel seeds, salt and pepper. Add to the cabbage mixture and toss. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. The salad will keep for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.
Serves 6.
Note on toasted fennel seeds: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Put the desired amount of seeds in a single layer on a jelly-roll pan. Toast in the oven for 10 minutes, or until they begin to darken in color, occasionally shaking the pan so the seeds will toast evenly. Remove the seeds from the oven and pour them onto a cool pan. To coarsely grind, put them in a spice mill and grind just until broken up and barely turning to powder.
From “Wildwood, Cooking From the Source in the Pacific Northwest,” by Cory Schreiber
From Portland chef Caprial Pence, here’s a wonderful side dish to fresh crab.
8slices bacon, diced
3cloves garlic, chopped
1onion, diced
3/4cup dry sherry
1small head green cabbage, julienned (cut in 1- to 2-inch slender strips)
2tablespoons wine vinegar
1tablespoon olive oil
2teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1/2cup chopped walnuts, toasted
Salt
Black pepper
Place the bacon in a medium saute pan and cook over medium heat until crispy, about 3 minutes. Transfer the bacon to a paper towel to drain. Add the garlic and onion to the pan and saute in the bacon grease over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes. Add the sherry and cook until reduced by half, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the cabbage and cook just until wilted, but still slightly crunchy, about 1 minute. Remove from heat. Add the sherry vinegar, olive oil, thyme, and walnuts and season to taste with salt and pepper. Toss in the reserved bacon (crumble it first) and keep warm until ready to use.
Adapted from Caprial’s Bistro-Style Cuisine
Jan Roberts-Dominguez is a Corvallis, Ore., food writer, cookbook author and artist. Readers can contact her by e-mail at janrd@proaxis.com.
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