The Dungeness crab topic

[Sue Flay]

I'm all for the simple preparations, but this is incredibly delicious:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/231591

I've done this with both orange and lemon and both are wonderful. I start with purchased, cooked crabs.

[lindag]

Went in search of fresh crab today and came away with a can...no fresh Dungeness here though the commercial season is open, at least in Oregon.

I will make my favorite crab spread tomorrow and hope for the best.

when made with fresh it is the one of the best things I've ever eaten.

 

[Jacksoup]

They’ve been talking about a shortage of Dungeness here in Northern California.  Two weeks ago it was $6.99 a pound, now it’s $10.99 a pound. Glad I had my big crab cracking dinner before the price went sky high.

[heidih]

I just called my vendor and they are $21.99/lb and in good supply. These are live http://qualityseafood.net/

My understanding is that the cooked ones you see at supermarkets are often last year's or their kinda dying ones.

 

EDIT: I called again and it is $18.99 live. He said the season is just ok

Edited December 24, 2017 by heidih
correct price (log)

[dcarch]

2 hours ago, Jacksoup said:

They’ve been talking about a shortage of Dungeness here in Northern California.  Two weeks ago it was $6.99 a pound, now it’s $10.99 a pound. Glad I had my big crab cracking dinner before the price went sky high.

 

Shortage will be permanent.

Most of the supply will be ship to China.

 

dcarch

[heidih]

Actually the fisherman I spoke with said it was more a catch yield issuie. Our local spiny lobster is in the $30's/lb. Just not out there. Oceans are changing.

[KennethT]

I'm not trying to be snide or snippy but can someone please explain why dungeness crabs are supposed to be so great? I think I've only had it once and my memory says that it was a lot of effort for little yield... What am I missing?

[gfweb]

5 hours ago, lindag said:

Went in search of fresh crab today and came away with a can...no fresh Dungeness here though the commercial season is open, at least in Oregon.

I will make my favorite crab spread tomorrow and hope for the best.

when made with fresh it is the one of the best things I've ever eaten.

 

Got a recipe?

[lindag]

10 hours ago, KennethT said:

I'm not trying to be snide or snippy but can someone please explain why dungeness crabs are supposed to be so great? I think I've only had it once and my memory says that it was a lot of effort for little yield... What am I missing?

It may be just personal taste but I can't get enough of the stuff myself.  It may be that it's only available seasonally that we get excited when it's for sale.  Like Copper River Salmon?  Or fresh off the vine tomatoes?

Edited December 25, 2017 by lindag (log)

[lindag]

10 hours ago, gfweb said:

Got a recipe?

Sent.

[weinoo]

10 hours ago, KennethT said:

I'm not trying to be snide or snippy but can someone please explain why dungeness crabs are supposed to be so great? I think I've only had it once and my memory says that it was a lot of effort for little yield... What am I missing?

I think it's the best tasting crustacean on the planet.  Its yield is about the same as northern Atlantic lobsters.

 

 

[dcarch]

11 hours ago, KennethT said:

I'm not trying to be snide or snippy but can someone please explain why dungeness crabs are supposed to be so great? I think I've only had it once and my memory says that it was a lot of effort for little yield... What am I missing?

 

Are you sure you are not talking about blue crabs?

Are you sure the last time you  tasted was cooked live crabs? Dead crabs taste not too good.

 

dcarch

[Katie Meadow]

The most recent info I could find about the shortage of fresh Dungeness crab here in CA is that they are doing crab quality testing and the local catch has been suspended or delayed. At stores we trust here there was some frozen crab but it was unclear where/when it was caught. There was no fresh crab from Alaska or northern states, either. in 2015 (I think it was) the season was a total bust due to algal blooms which produce a toxin you don't want to eat. This year that toxin showed up in crabs in Oregon. I haven't done any research, but it would not be a big surprise to learn that warming ocean waters increase the probability of algal blooms. Maybe the days of great dungeness crab seasons are over.

 

Eight or ten years ago it wasn't unusual to see  live Dungeness crab fighting for space in tanks in Chinatown and selling for as little as $2.99 per lb.  

 

@KennethT I grew up eating blue crabs on the east coast. I loved them when the shells were hard, I loved them when the shells were soft. Now that I live in CA I love Dungeness crab. Picking the meat from any hard shell crab is a lot of work, but if you love fresh crab it isn't an obstacle. The advantage to having a 2 lb crab is that it easier to get enough meat off it to make crab cakes. 

 

[boilsover]

On 12/24/2017 at 6:45 PM, KennethT said:

I'm not trying to be snide or snippy but can someone please explain why dungeness crabs are supposed to be so great? I think I've only had it once and my memory says that it was a lot of effort for little yield... What am I missing?

 

Compare it with other species.  Personally, I like both the red king crab and the Tanner/snows better, but good luck finding those fresh unless you live on the Bering Sea.  IME, fresh Dungeness is better than both frozen king and Tanner.  I don't care for warm-water crabs (or oysters for that matter).

 

Dungenness yield is actually good, with a lot of body meat.  It varies a little with the molting.  A lot better than most crabs on the Gulf or East coasts.

[lindag]

My crab spread, which is normally outstanding, made yesterday with the canned Boss brand was not so good.

When I first opened the can I noticed an odor, which was my first clue.

I made it anyway but it most quite disappointing.  It's edible but only just,

the real thing has very little odor and I won't make the recipe again until I can get hold of the fresh.

[dcarch]

1 hour ago, boilsover said:

Personally, I like both the red king crab and the Tanner/snows better, but good luck finding those fresh unless you live on the Bering Sea.

 

You can get King crabs, and snow crabs live in many Chinese restaurants.

 

dcarch

[boilsover]

33 minutes ago, dcarch said:

 

You can get King crabs, and snow crabs live in many Chinese restaurants.

 

dcarch

 

You mean to take home live and cook?

They're coming for you, you know that, right?  http://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2017/12/13/christmas-island-google-crab-migration-orig-vstan.cnn

Edited December 26, 2017 by boilsover (log)

[Ann_T]

We almost always have Lobster on New Year's Eve.   A tradition for over 40 years.   The exception is, occasionally we will have Dungeness crab.

 

Since we are on the west coast of Canada lobsters are brought in from the East Coast and this year they are on sale for New Years at  $10.99 for a one pounder and $12.99 for 1 1/2 pounds.  I was actually 

thinking about having Dungeness this year but I'm not prepared to pay $3.50 per 100g ($35.00 kilo) and since most of the crabs weight at least 2 pounds if not more each crab is going to be close to $40.  each. 

 

So lobster it is.    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[chromedome]

On 26/12/2017 at 7:54 PM, Ann_T said:

We almost always have Lobster on New Year's Eve.   A tradition for over 40 years.   The exception is, occasionally we will have Dungeness crab.

 

Since we are on the west coast of Canada lobsters are brought in from the East Coast and this year they are on sale for New Years at  $10.99 for a one pounder and $12.99 for 1 1/2 pounds.  I was actually 

thinking about having Dungeness this year but I'm not prepared to pay $3.50 per 100g ($35.00 kilo) and since most of the crabs weight at least 2 pounds if not more each crab is going to be close to $40.  each. 

 

So lobster it is.    

Just for the record, that's the price we have in the supermarket right here, where they're landed. There are a couple of small shops that undercut the supermarkets, but not by much (no sense leaving money on the table!). 

[weinoo]

On 12/26/2017 at 5:34 PM, lindag said:

My crab spread, which is normally outstanding, made yesterday with the canned Boss brand was not so good.

When I first opened the can I noticed an odor, which was my first clue.

I made it anyway but it most quite disappointing.  It's edible but only just,

the real thing has very little odor and I won't make the recipe again until I can get hold of the fresh.

Here in NYC, I can usually find some pretty decent quality picked/pasteurized blue crab,  which makes for good crab cakes and I imagine would be good for a crab spread.

I see it at whole foods; it's perishable (not canned), kept in a refrigerated section in plastic containers. They sell backfin, claw, lump, jumbo lump. Stuff is not cheap.

 

Here's just one source:

 

http://www.lintonseafood.com/maryland_crab_meat_s/21.htm

[Ann_T]

1 hour ago, chromedome said:

Just for the record, that's the price we have in the supermarket right here, where they're landed. There are a couple of small shops that undercut the supermarkets, but not by much (no sense leaving money on the table!). 

 

Chromedome,  Dungeness crabs  are available  here year around. They never seem to be out of season. But the price has been high now for a couple of years.

  There is only one supermarket here that I would buy from because they are known for their fresh (live ) seafood.  And there are two local seafood shops but their prices will be higher.   Although maybe I should check with

them just to see if they will have a special for NY Eve.

 

 

[weinoo]

You know, all this time @Ann_T, I thought you lived in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn.

[David Ross]

I've been really frustrated this year about our lack of fresh and live Dungeness crabs.  Typically the season in the Pacific Northwest opens about the first of December, and we rush to get crabs for the Holidays.  Finally we saw an update on the news yesterday that said the commercial season off the coast of WA will open on January 15.  (Too late to make Father's hot crab dip for a holiday party, but I'll make it just for me).  This particular news story said it was due to a red tide issue, but really I'm not sure exactly why the season was delayed.  I have a former employee who was crabbing with her husband two weeks ago out of Puget Sound and she said it was slow going for the effort.  They have a commercial fisherman friend who will sell them fresh Dungeness crabs at $5 apiece when the season starts!

[blue_dolphin]

The info I've seen attributes price increases to the delays in opening the Washington, Oregon and Northern California (Mendocino, Humboldt and Del Norte counties) commercial Dungeness crab seasons in order to give the crabs more time to fill with meat and harden their shells after molting.

Quote

Fisheries managers use "meat fill" tests to determine how well the Dungeness have rebounded from the late summer shedding of their shells in a process called molting.

After the molt, the crabs fill with water as their shells harden and they grow new muscle.

The minimum threshold is 25 percent meat, meaning a 2-pound crab must yield at least a half-pound of meat.

 

[dcarch]

Asian stores often sell crabs (and lobsters) with one or two missing limbs at 1/2 price. Wonderful deals.

 

dcarch