"Deadliest Catch" King Crab

[Holly Moore]

Just got a tweet from the Philadelphia Four Seasons promoting "Roasted Grouper Fillet w/"deadliest catch" king crab spring roll, gingered acorn squash, light curry sauce."

Not sure if "deadliest catch" is a designation or a brand but figure, either way, the crab costs at least a few bucks more a pound. Crab from a voyage where a crew member is maimed or killed - right up there with the finest sushi grade tuna.

[mrsadm]

what in the world is your point?

[David A. Goldfarb]

I think the restaurant is just playing of the title of a series on The Discovery Channel that follows a crabbing boat in Alaska. It's notoriously dangerous work, but well paid. I have an acquaintance who used to do it and lost a few fingers on one voyage. The show is called "The Deadliest Catch."

[Jaymes]

I think the restaurant is just playing of the title of a series on The Discovery Channel that follows a crabbing boat in Alaska. It's notoriously dangerous work, but well paid. I have an acquaintance who used to do it and lost a few fingers on one voyage. The show is called "The Deadliest Catch."

Right. It's Discovery Channel's highest-rated program. The restaurant is probably hoping that those of us that watch that show will think that the crab comes right off of one of those boats. We see the crews holding up monster crabs the size of a small Chevy and think to ourselves, "Boy I'd like to try one of them."

It would get my attention.

Deadliest Catch

[Holly Moore]

what in the world is your point?

Point? Nah. Having a point all the time is way too limiting. What is your point in asking about my point?

My motive, on the other hand - I found it amusing and wanted to share. I know the TV show.

I also was curious if someone was actually marketing crab caught on the boats from the show or if it was just the Four Seasons chef being clever.

Either way, I liked the concept, but mostly just found the idea amusing.

[johnnyd]

I also was curious if someone was actually marketing crab caught on the boats from the show or if it was just the Four Seasons chef being clever.

It's like "diver scallops". If people only knew how few scallops were actually harvested by divers - but it sure sounds cool

[Kent Wang]

Tell me more about the "diver scallops".

[johnnyd]

"Diver Scallops" are collected by scuba divers licensed in their state to "hand harvest". They are considered preferable on menus because the product is regarded to have been treated gentler than the normal drag-harvest method.

In this video, the diver has retrieved 5 or 6 scallops so he'll end up with 5lbs of scallop meat per scuba tank. At a rate of $7/lb, he's made $35, and probably unable to supply even one lunch rush in a busy restaurant.

A much more practical way - and the normal harvesting method - is dredging or dragging a chain-metal "bag" behind a sturdy vessel on flat ocean bottom, which scrapes everything up in it's path, hoisted on-deck and picked through for scallops. Not the prettiest way to treat the ocean, or scallops, but you get 100 pounds a whack - a decent days pay.

So I know a couple guys here in Portland who sell their scallops to places in Boston, but they don't go out everyday - the point being that there isn't enough genuine diver product generated to legitimize menus claiming to serve "diver scallops". Not really caveat emptor here because all (dry) scallops are pretty damn good to begin with, but "deadliest catch" crab could be another similar stretch of marketing imagination.

Edited October 30, 2009 by johnnyd (log)