In Search of the Oregon Coast Dungeness Crab

Catching Dungeness on the Oregon Coast is a year-round sport in the estuaries, coastal rivers and tidal bays. In theDungeness Crab on the Oregon Coast ocean, crab season is closed from August 15th through November 30th. The best weather to go in is mild to sunny weather. Sustained rains bring fresh water. They are salt-water creatures and heavy rains force them out to sea because of the sudden lack of salt water.

To stay on the right side of the law, you need to get yourself a license if you are 14 and over. The licenses are not that expensive (call the local chamber of commerce for prices) and they are available for three day or year long. This is for both in-state and out-of-state residents.

Legally, you can only keep the males. The females must be let go. You can determine a male from a female by checking their underside. Males have thin tail-like piece while the females have a round, wide piece. It's pretty easy to tell them apart once you see them both. The measurement of the crab will also determine a keeper. As long as the male crab measures five and three forths inches across the back of the shell, not including the points, consider him dinner!

Now, the adventure begins! Crabs are usually caught by using crab rings or crab pots. You can have up to three of these devices per person. Lower the baited (use chicken, fish, turkey, etc) rings or pots into the water, wait about 5 - 7 minutes, pull them up and see what you have. If you come up empty handed, move them to a different spot and try again. The ideal spots are ones with very little current. You can leave the crab pots in the water for a bit longer than the rings. The local bait shops in town will be able to hook you up with the gear you need. Once caught, they need to be cooked as soon as possible, preferably within the hour. The catch limit is 12 per day.

Once you taste a juicy, Dungeness crab, you will think you have died and went to heaven!

Crab Comforts

Crabs are among the most succulent and delicious seafood eaten today. Whole crabs, crab legs, crab cakes, alaskan crabs, stone crabs, and even other tiny crabs are served across the nation. Some like it with sauce, others are contented to steam it and pick the meat out. More adventurous people would include crabs in soups, salads, and even sandwiches. Crab cakes and crab fritters are also popular choices. Crabs are even included in pasta sauces and omelettes.

But before making crab dishes it is necessary to get really good crabs and crab meat. It doesn't matter if you're going to prepare whole crabs, crab legs, crab cakes, alaskan crabs, stone crabs, or some tiny crab, they key here is freshness. It is better and advised that you get live crabs. Pick crabs that are lively or aggressive. Sick or dead crabs would only ruin your dish and could even be a cause of sickness. Also, crabs are sold by bushels. Insists to inspect or choose your own crabs before putting them in bushels. To ensure freshness, befriend your fish person and ask them to keep you informed when the next batch of crabs would be in. Fresh crabs taste juicier and more succulent than stale crabs.

Now that you have your crabs, it is important to remember some guidelines in preparing them. You would not want to waste quality crabs by careless cooking, would you? It doesn't matter if you want to cook crabs, crab legs, crab cakes, alaskan crabs, stone crabs, or some tiny crab dish, cook your crabs as soon as you got them. I assure you they'll taste better than if cooked on a later time. For steaming, get a wide rack and steaming pot so you can steam the all crabs at once. This way, crabs are steamed evenly and you can prevent earlier steamed crabs from cooling. Make sure that your rack has enough height for your crabs to stay well above the steaming liquid, too short racks will give you boiled crabs instead of steamed. Another trick is to add beer to your boiling liquid, it will give your crabs outstanding flavor. Crab cakes are trickier. It is important to control your seasonings so as not to overpower the subtle flavor of the crab. Avoid over-frying or your crab cake will dry out. The color of stone crab claws and most crabs will change to a bright shade of orange when cooked. Do not overcook your crabs, as soon as they signal you with their color change, remove them from direct heat. When your crabs are cooked, keep your sauces or condiments to a minimum, after all, it is the crabs that should be the star of your meal. Call your friends and family to share your crab feast. But on the other hand, they'll taste so good you might want to enjoy them by yourself.

Blue Crabs Get No Respect

Thank goodness for the lowly blue crab.

What would our epicurean lives be without this deliciously savory crustacean. Yet often they do not get the respect they deserve.

These small bluish crustaceans are harvested from the mid Atlantic region crab fishery in Chesapeake Bay to Florida and along the Gulf states as far west as Texas. In its scientific name, calli is Greek for "beautiful", nectes for "swimmer", and sapidus is Latin for "savory".

Most crabs, except the luxurious King Crab, live out their meek and humble lives in the shadow of the lobster, the king of seafood. Yet for those in the know, that is ok because that just means more for us, right? Seriously, where would 'imperial' be without blue crab meat and delicious 'Maryland Style' be without tender and tasty blue crabs? Ah yes, many nights spent in bittersweet joy, after having your fill at the dinner table with those lowly crustaceans. Slurping, picking and dipping those juicy morsels through butter, old bay, or whatever seasonings you prefer, all the while feeling so sorry for those pitiful crabs that get no respect.

Let's pick on the blue crab some more shall we? All puns intended and accepted.

Some will say that they hate to pick out the meat because it is so much work for very little crab meat. Well in a way their complaint is justified. Typically the blue crab will yield only 10% to 15% of it's body weight in crab meat. The crabs grow by molting or shedding their shell and growing back a larger one. Just prior to molting, the crab will be encased in both the soft, new shell which is forming underneath the hard old shell. The formation of a new shell is evident along the margins of the swimming paddles of a crab. The crab is referred to as a "peeler" or "shedder". Immediately after the molt, the crab's new shell is soft, pliable and easily stretched. At this time the crab would be referred to as a " soft shelled crab". Many crab lovers will only eat a soft shell, which is simply a delightful dish when lightly tossed in flour and pan fried.

Types of Crabmeat:

• Lump is from the largest pieces of meat from the body, adjacent to the backfin and is the most expensive form of crabmeat.

• Backfin is the white body meat including lump and large flakes and is used for crab cakes and crab imperial.

• Special are flakes of white body meat other than lump and is used for crab cakes, soups, dips and casseroles.

• Claw meat is brownish meat from the claws and is best for dips and soups.

Some more Blue Crab facts:

• Callinectes sapidus means "Beautiful swimmer that is savory".
• Crabs reach maturity in 12 to 18 months.
• Few crabs live longer than 3 years.
• The largest crab recorded from Maryland was a male measuring 9 inches; however bigger crabs (10-11 inches) have been captured.
• The annual harvest of hard crabs from Chesapeake Bay accounts for over 50% of total U.S. landings.
• Cannibalism of young blue crabs by larger crabs is common and may regulate population abundance.
• A spring-spawned crab can reach a size of 2½ inches by their first winter.

Serve and enjoy blue crabs at your next party or cook-out and guarantee yourself the adoration of an appreciative group of seafood lovers. Finally, don't feel sorry for the blue crab, they get more respect than they know.