Preparing Dungeness Crab

Recipe of the Week January 16th 2008

It’s simple! Preparing your Dungeness Crab is quick, easy & something the whole family or your guests can enjoy participating in.

Over the years, we have seen an increased interest in Dungeness Crab from many folks who are more familiar with other types of crab. Although we have always provided Handling Instructions with each order, many overlook them or cook them as if they were live. (Boiling the Crab on arrival is a definite No No)

Wild Ocean Seafoods® Dungeness Crab is ready to eat when you receive them! It has already been cooked & brine frozen. You can enjoy it hot or cold! We offer Dungeness Crab as Whole Cooked Crab and as Crab Sections (Clusters). What’s the difference?

Whole Cooked Crab – The entire crab is cooked from live, quick chilled & brine frozen. They are then placed in poly bags. When you receive the crab, they should be re-heated in a steamer (think spaghetti pot with strainer) or oven at 400 F under tented foil. It will take 9-12 minutes to get the interior temperature of the crab to 165 F. The crab can be steamed from frozen or thawed, cleaned and steamed. DO NOT OVER COOK THE CRAB!!!! It is already cooked so you just want to re-heat it. If you steam or bake them for too long, you are cooking them twice and the end result will be stringy crab meat!

Directions:
Cleaning the Crab:
Hold the Crab in your left hand (claws towards the left) and place your right hand on the back of the top shell.
Put your right thumb under the shell and pull up. The whole top shell should remove in one piece. (Clean & save the shell for an oven baked side dish or ramekin for dipping sauce.)
Pull the green gill material off the inside of the opened Crab.
Next, there is a small “V” section of lower Crab shell in the back that cab be removed with your thumb as well.
Remove the loose brown material from the center of the crab.
Rinse the Crab in Cold Water for a few seconds; this will remove the remainder of the brine & internal pieces.

Heating the Crab before serving:
Take your Spaghetti Pot with Strainer inside, 2 or 3 cups of water in the bottom, bring to a boil and steam crab for about 9-12 minutes (Whole Crab) or 6-9 minutes (Cleaned Crab).
Oven or BBQ method.
Place Crab in a foil lined baking pan or Pyrex dish. Add about 3/8 inch water to the pan bottom.
Cover with an aluminum foil tent.
Place in pre-heated Oven or BBQ at 400 degrees for about 9-12 minutes (Whole Crab) or 6-9 minutes (Cleaned Crab). (165 degree internal temperature)

Dungeness Crab Sections (Clusters) – We do most of the work for you! Depending on our processing volume, the crab may be butchered from live then cooked or cooked as whole crab and then cleaned. Dungeness Sections contain all the edible portion of the crab. Since they are cleaned before freezing, you may enjoy them hot or cold! If you want to eat them cold, just thaw in the refrigerator, rinse over the sink to remove the brine and eat! The crab can be steamed from frozen or thawed and steamed. It will take 6-9 minutes to get the interior temperature of the crab to 165 F. DO NOT OVER COOK THE CRAB!!!! It is already cooked so you just want to re-heat it. If you steam or bake them for too long, you are cooking them twice and the end result will be stringy crab meat!

Directions:
Heating the Crab Sections before serving:
Take your Spaghetti Pot with Strainer inside, 2 or 3 cups of water in the bottom, bring to a boil, add crab & steam for 6-9 minutes. Depending on whether you are steaming thawed or steaming from frozen.
Oven or BBQ method.
Place Crab in a foil lined baking pan or Pyrex dish. Add about 3/8 inch water to the pan bottom.
Cover with an aluminum foil tent.
Place in pre-heated Oven or BBQ at 400 degrees for 6-9 minutes depending on whether you are steaming thawed or steaming from frozen. (about as long as a medium rare steak) (165 degree internal temperature)