Crab For Supper

Crab meat has to be one of my favourite seafood. It is easy to prepare and tastes so good. In British Columbia the most commonly caught crabs are the Dungeness and Rock Crabs. Dungeness crabs are the larger of the two, and they have way more meat on them.  I will discuss more of this further down.

Dungeness Crab

Dungeness Crab

Ingredients:

  • Sea water or fresh water with some salt in it. I really prefer the sea water right out of the ocean.
  • Crabs, cleaned and divided into two pieces. Half a crab is enough for one person if you have caught or bought crabs that are over 2 lbs.
  • Butter, about ¼ cup per person
  • Garlic, chopped (lots of it)

Bring the water to boil ( I like to do this on the side burner on the BBQ to keep the steam and smell out of the house) and add the crabs, boil for 12-15 minutes after it returns to boil. If you boil the crabs whole without cleaning them, you will have to add another 10 minutes to the cooking time.

When the crabs are cooking, melt butter and add garlic. Keep the butter warm,but do not boil.

When crabs are cooked, carefully remove tender crab meat out of the shell, and serve with garlic butter. This is so good. You can serve some of my Italian Bread with this and a Caesar Salad. Try Rose’s Caesar Salad Dressing.

Wine Recommendations: Here, I like either a Rosé like Pinot Meunier Rosé from 8th Generation Vineyard. It should be served chilled. You can also go with nice white wine from Cherry Point Vineyard. Try their Gewürztraminer, it is a great wine.

More on crabs. You should only catch male crabs and let the female go. This is to conserve and make sure that we always have a good supply of crabs.

Male Dungeness Crab, just over 2 lbs.

Male Dungeness Crab, just over 2 lbs.

The above crab is a male Dungeness crab we caught. It was 2 lbs and ¾ oz or 927 grams.  To see the difference between a male and a female crab and more information go to Fisheries and Oceans Canada website. A Dungeness crab must be over 165 mm or 6.5 inches wide across the back and a Rock crab must be over 115mm or 4.5 inches.

Kiss the cook,

Karl