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The Dungeness crab topic

La Niña

By La Niña
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chromedome

chromedome

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Ann_T said:

 

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.

 

 

I meant the lobsters, actually. :)

I live on the East Coast, and lobstering is a significant part of the New Brunswick economy. 

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“Who loves a garden, loves a greenhouse too.” - William Cowper, The Task, Book Three

 

"Not knowing the scope of your own ignorance is part of the human condition...The first rule of the Dunning-Kruger club is you don’t know you’re a member of the Dunning-Kruger club.” - psychologist David Dunning

 

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Katie Meadow

Katie Meadow

Posted
Posted

Availability of live or fresh Dungeness crab is seasonal on the west coast. If you buy a dungeness crab in June or August or September you are buying frozen crab that has been defrosted, at least here in CA. Not that it can't be tasty, but it will not be quite as good and it may be expensive. Most people I know just don't eat Dungeness crab except in season. I don't know the parameters of the commercial season further north, but surely it does not extend into summer. When you buy cooked cracked crab it is worth asking where it comes from and whether it has been frozen or not. Best to buy from a reputable source that will answer those questions so at least you know what you are getting.

 

Crab season on the west coast varies according to numbers, quality and safely concerns, but in the past in CA it has typically opened in late November or early December. If memory serves, WA and other northern states open their seasons earlier; we used to get fresh crab over Thanksgiving weekend that was shipped down to the Bay Area before our local season opened. Until recent years there has almost always been fresh local crab by Xmas; eating crab on xmas day in Chinese restaurants is a fabulous tradition and a mob scene! Business must be hurting. 

 

Many crab lovers agree that quality tends to go down by spring, even if the season is still open. The commercial season ends to give crabs time to recover their numbers for the next year. This year reasons for the shortage are murky. Quality, possible toxins from algal blooms, you name it. In WA state the suspension of the season seems to be about the amount of meat per crab as noted above. In OR there were reports of a toxin in a few crabs. Here in northern CA they are saying various unclear things about safety. Frustrating, definitely. The fact that the last few years have been so disappointing can't be just a coincidence. 

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Ann_T

Ann_T

Posted
Posted
55 minutes ago, Katie Meadow said:

@Ann_T I suspect you are not in Kansas--or Cobble Hill-- any more. Mad Dog Crabs must be on Vancouver Island. I'm envious! Yes indeed, pricey. But local CA salmon and crabs are just two of the species being chased north by changing waters.  

 

Still in Cobble Hill. Vancouver Island.   And  Mad Dog Crabs is in Duncan.   

 

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Katie Meadow

Katie Meadow

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, dcarch said:

 

All Asian stores in Canada and USA have live Dungeness crabs year round.

dcarch

 

Okay, I am totally stumped. Where are these crabs are coming from if they are live year-round? CA, OR and WA have seasons for commercial and recreational crabbing. The seasons in these three states usually open some time between November and the early December. By definition, this means the season is closed before that. In these three states there is no year-round season. In other words if you see Dungeness crab swimming live in tanks when the season is not open they are fished illegally or they are being shipped from somewhere that has a currently open season. And where is that? If they are caught and shipped live from any states with a season under suspension it is likely that they are poor quality (as has been the case for a month or two in CA) or contain unacceptable levels of toxins from an algal bloom (as discovered in OR this year.) 

 

The most recent information for CA from the CA Dept of Fish and Wildlife is that the 2017 season is now set to open on Dec 31 due to meat quality. If delays continue beyond Jan 15 the season will be officially canceled. I know nothing about Dungeness crab fishing in Canada, so perhaps someone can enlighten me as to when their season is.

 

I am not a marine expert by any means, but if Dungeness crab fishing had a year-round season how could their numbers possibly be sustained?  

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lindag

lindag

Posted
Posted (edited)

The crab meat I bought in an 8-oz. can was Boss brand,  It says the crab is from Asian waters and is called Portunus Pelagicus.

The print on the can was so tiny I couldn't read it til I got home and used a magnifying glass (seems to be the norm these days - does the whole world have 20-20 vision except me?)

It did not have the clean taste and smell of fresh Dungeness.

 

Edited by lindag (log)
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dcarch

dcarch

Posted
Posted
8 hours ago, Katie Meadow said:

Okay, I am totally stumped. Where are these crabs are coming from if they are live year-round?

I have no idea. I don't remember not seeing live crabs in the Korean store near me and other Asian stores. Of course every time I travel to Canada, winter or summer, it's carbs and crabs as often as I can fit in my schedule.

dcarch

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Katie Meadow

Katie Meadow

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, lindag said:

The crab meat I bought in an 8-oz. can was Boss brand,  It says the crab is from Asian waters and is called Portunus Pelagicus.

The print on the can was so tiny I couldn't read it til I got home and used a magnifying glass (seems to be the norm these days - does the whole world have 20-20 vision except me?)

It did not have the clean taste and smell of fresh Dungeness.

 

 

The crab in your can is not Dungeness. It is a crab species fished in Indonesia and Australian environs known by many names, one of them being Flower Crab. Pretty hard to compare any canned crab meat to fresh, no matter what the species. And if it's any comfort (which it really shouldn't be) my eyesight is as far from 20/20 as a can of Flower Crab is from fresh Dungeness. 

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boilsover

boilsover

Posted
Posted
11 hours ago, Katie Meadow said:


Okay, I am totally stumped. Where are these crabs are coming from if they are live year-round? CA, OR and WA have seasons for commercial and recreational crabbing.   

 

I'm not sure the Native/First People's fisheries all observe the states' seasons.

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rotuts

rotuts

Posted
Posted

this thread puts a bit of a Tear in my Eye.

 

I grew up in the BayArea, on the peninusla

 

in MenloPark there was Cook's Seafood

 

the freshest fish ive ever seen , as they had a restaurant that cooked the fish at its correct time.

 

I went back to see my parents 4 times a year  for a week or so

 

I cooked fish from Cook's

 

after my mother moved on , more fish

 

and the fresher salmon ive ever had

 

and nicely priced.

 

if I was there in the Crab Season

 

id get a couple  which they cooked on the spot

 

the lay newspaper on the kitchen table and pick the crabs over

 

Im not a fan of Working w your Food on you dinner table  ...

 

I like to do the work in the Kitchen etc

 

so we had D-Crab in light wine flavored white sauce w crab flavored bread crumb on top

 

all shell made the stock

 

Cooks also gave me very fresh shells so I made a lot of stock.

 

best crab cakes Ive ever made were from these crabs

 

the Rx from the NYTimes   CraigClaiborne and PierreFranny ( sp ? sorry )

 

good time

 

not really that long ago

 

Last Century for sure

 

and Id say if your D-Crab is wiggling then properly cooked

 

mighty time flavor  

 

I would have loved to try fresh D-Crabs  w Freshly cooked 

 

Stone Crab Claws

 

but good luck with that !

 

as wonderful as  stone crabs claws are

 

I thing fresh D-Crabs would win out

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lindag

lindag

Posted
Posted

My local grocer featured

fresh Oregon Dungeness crab today.

i just finished cleaning and picking the claws and am looking forward to a wonderful Crab Louie for dinner.

This doesn't happen often here so it's a real treat.

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Jacksoup

Jacksoup

Posted
Posted

@lindagIt just started showing up in stores here, but from Washington state.  I picked up 3 for dinner.  $6.99 a pound.  We just make garlic butter and garlic bread, spread newspapers on the table and hand everyone crab crackers and picks.  

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David Ross

David Ross

Posted
Posted

It's been a crazy few years here in the Pacific Northwest with our Dungeness fisheries.  We normally see the first crabs show in the markets by Dec. 1.  This year the season was very early, then shut down for weeks over the holidays.  Late January we'll still see some but not the bounty we are seeing now.  And we have prices down as low as $5.97 a pound.  

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David Ross

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lindag

lindag

Posted
Posted (edited)
57 minutes ago, David Ross said:

  And we have prices down as low as $5.97 a pound.   

 

That's what it was here as well.  I don't believe I've ever seen crab that cheap here.  The stores rarely offer it, maybe  up to three times a season, if that.  

it wasn't the freshest either; when I lived in Portland the crab in the store was really fresh, straight from the coast. Just wonderful.

I had to chuckle at the grocery clerk who checked out my order; I mentioned how nice it was to finally see some fresh crab and she replied, "Oh god, I can hardly stand to look at it!".

Edited by lindag (log)
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heidih

heidih

Posted
Posted

The season opened in November and this year was not great. Right now my local bestie Quality Seafood says they are at $16.99/lb,  At season opening they were as low as $7.99. Your cheap guys may be previously frozen?  Still taste good but interesting to know. 

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David Ross

David Ross

Posted
Posted

Our Season in the Pacific Northwest started just before Christmas in Washington, then opened in Oregon last week.  The crabs are a bit small so far this year, most in the 1.5-2lb. range.  They're at 7.99-9.99 lb depending on where you buy them.  I'll post a few of my latest Dungeness recipes here.

David Ross

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