What to do with a live crab?

Dungeness crab season is in full effect. To celebrate I decided to have a little crab fest at the house, and since we can not live on crabs alone, clams steamed with beer and butter were also on the menu for the evening.

I usually buy my crabs steamed, cleaned and ready to crack and dip into my herb butter sauce. I get to avoid the whole killing and cleaning part and go straight to enjoying the fruits of my local fish mongers labor. While this is a stress free way to enjoy crab, the price for this ranges anywhere from 2 to4 times the cost of buying a live crab. Given the global economic melt down I decided to be a little frugal and purchase live crabs.

For many reasons, including price, I like to shop for my seafood at Ranch 99 market. The fish mongers are quick and they'll clean, fillet, and even fry your fish for you. Clams are self service in the seafood department so I scooped up 2 pounds of clams and took a number to request my crabs. After a short wait my crabs were given to me in plastic bags with the warning that they would in fact bite and the store was not responsible for any injuries I may incur.

I'd never steamed my own crabs and although I was a bit nervous, it was definitely exciting. I used a giant pasta pot with a strainer to steam the crabs. It was big enough to fit 2 crabs at a time. The crabs were definitely a little feisty I used tongs to get them from the table to the pot. Once in the pot they kept moving for a little bit claws tapping on the glass lid. Thankfully, that part was over fairly quickly.

Cooking time depends on the size of your crab, generally between 10 and 20 minutes, you want to start checking at 10 minutes. Your crab is done when it's a bright orange color and the limbs very easy to remove. Mine were ready at exactly 15 minutes.

Now that your Crab is cooked you'll want to remove it from the pot and let it cool and rest for a bit. Once the crab is cool enough to handle the real fun begins, cleaning!

To clean the crabs you will first tear off all the limbs and place them in a serving bowl. Next you are going to pull off the top shell carefully and remove the brain. The brains are edible but tend to be bitter so I remove them. They are yellow and have the consistency of a dense foam. Also remove all of the exterior features that are inedible. Once that's done you can cut what's left in half and place it in the serving bowl.

I make a simple garlic herb butter to serve with the crab. (recipe to follow)

A word to the wise, you will want to make sure that all traces of crab are removed from your kitchen as soon as you are done with your feast. The shells develop a terrible odor fairly quickly and if left in your kitchen garbage your kitchen will smell foul for days.

I was having 5 adults and 1 child over and I purchased 4 crabs. It was too much 2 would have been more than sufficient. It's important to buy only what you need because crab doesn't keep well or long. If you are in a situation where you have left overs make sure you crack the crabs and remove all the meat from the shells and store that in the fridge. You can use the meat the next day in an omelet or pasta.

Happy Crabbing!

Herbed Garlic Butter
1 stick of butter
1 Tbsp shallot finely minced
3 cloves of garlic minced
1 Tsp fresh Thyme minced
1/2 Tsp fresh rosemary minced
1 Tbsp Italian flat leaf parsley minced
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
Salt and Pepper to taste

Melt the butter on medium low heat. Add the shallot, garlic, herbs and season with salt and pepper. Continue to cook on low heat until the flavors have been infused in the butter without browning it. (approx. 10 mins) Pour mixture into a serving bowl and add the lemon juice.

Beer Steamed Clams
2 lbs Clams
1/2 large red onion minced
3 Tbsp fresh garlic minced
3 Tbsp Italian flat leaf parsley minced
6 oz of beer (whatever you like to drink)
2 Tbsp butter
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (enough to coat the bottom of your pan)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Clean the clams thoroughly. In a large bowl add 1/4 cup of salt and fill half way with cold water. Add the clams and additional water if necessary the clams should be completely submerged. Allow the clams to soak in this water for 20 to 30 minutes. This is important because the clams will release any sand they may have inside while soaking in the salt water.

Coat the bottom of a 12 inch pan with olive oil and heat on medium high. When the oil is hot add the butter. Once the butter is melted add the onions and saute until translucent. season with salt and pepper add the garlic and parsley. Cook until the onions start to get golden around the edges (about 5 mins)

Drain and rinse the clams. Turn the heat on the pan to high and add the clams. stir the clams in the pot and ensure they are well coated with the mixture in the pan. Add the beer and cover immediately. Cook covered for 2-3 minutes and check. Most of the clams should be opened if not cover and continue to cook for another minute or two. Otherwise turn off the heat and pour clams and broth into a large serving bowl. Serve with crusty sourdough bread.