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Dungeness Crabs are harvested between
December and April
Live Dungeness crab is the delight of crab lovers, easily cleaned and cooked
it offers it's own delicate flavor
Most supermarket and meat market fresh fish cases have ample supplies during
peak season.
They may be purchased whole, or in clusters, which is without the back shell
and cut in half and usually frozen.
Live crabs should be active and respond to stimuli.
Shell back will be
brownish in color.
They should be kept in a cool,
oxygenated salt water and be cooked soon after purchase, while still alive.
Fresh Whole, cooked crabs should have a clean, moist, bright orange shell, with legs
& claws intact.
They should feel heavy with no bad odor odor.
Frozen sections or clustersshould show no signs of discoloration or freezer
burn., they are brittle when frozen, handle with care!
Fresh product can be stored, on ice, under refrigeration
for up to 7 days. Frozen items keep longer but the sooner any crab is eaten,
the better it will taste.
Cooking
Place live crab in boiling, salted water, water will go OFF the boil
when carb is put in, wait until it boils again and cook for 18-20 minutes.
The crab will turn bright orange.
Put the crab in
cold water to cool before cleaning.
Cleaning
Hold base of crab with one hand to remove the back, place thumb under shell
at center-point, and pull off the shell.
The gills are now exposed. Gently scrape them away with a tablespoon edge.
Wash away the viscera under a heavy stream of cold water.
Portion Size & Yield...
There is about 25% meat to 75% shell in a typical Dungeness crab.
Twist off each leg where they join the body. Break off small pincer and
throw away.
Break large claws in two and crack with a nut cracker.
Mnay crab "afficionados" consider this the best meat in the
crab.
Crack next two joints of largest legs with nutcracker or mallet, and remove
the meat.
Repeat the cracking procedure on the top two joints of rest of legs.
Hold body of crab with two hands firmly and snap in two.
Place each
section on cutting board and strike with mallet to break and loosen meat.
If you buy fresh
whole cooked crabs they can be served chilled or heated for 5 minutes.
Clean the crab as described above.
Serve warm, straight from the shell and dipped in drawn butter or seafood
cocktail sauce. It also makes and excellent ingredient for a wide
variety of delicious dishes.
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Topics covered in this
article include; dungeness crab, oregon dungeness
crabs, cleaning and cooking dungeness crab
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