Dungeness crab dinner: 3 recipes to prepare

ASTORIA, Ore. — Following a two-month delay, Oregon’s Dungeness crabs are back!

The traditional December crab season opening was postponed in Oregon and Washington because crab meat content was not as high as expected.

So, was the wait worth it?

"Absolutely, we needed to wait," said Steve Fick of Astoria’s Fishhawk Fisheries. "When crab isn’t full, the market does not want to buy shells. They want to buy meat, so when you open a crab up, you want it full of meat. You do not want an empty shell."

Oregon’s most valuable seafood is worth nearly $100 million to coastal communities. Now, it’s on its way to a grocery near you.

"About 80% of the harvest is in the first four to seven weeks," added Fick. "There are some real affordable ad prices in grocery stores right now. I would take advantage of that, and it’s very reasonable compared to previous years, so I’d jump on it."

It's prime time to prepare fresh crab for an upcoming Super Bowl party because it is one of our most versatile seafoods.

Fick said he loves to share this good news about prized Oregon seafood by showing off three recipes that dare to be different!

RELATED: In Astoria, history pairs perfectly with beer and Dungeness crab

Recipe 1: Crab in black bean sauce 

Fick sautéed two tablespoons of ground ginger, two tablespoons of minced garlic and ¼ cup of soy sauce. After five minutes, he added ½ cup of black bean sauce and brought the mixture to a boil.

Sharp, pungent, salty and spicy with a hint of sweet, black bean sauce contributes a flavor to crab like no other.

Two cooked and cleaned crab were broken into smaller sections, then Fick pounded the shells open with a small meat hammer to let the sauce reach the meat. Fick placed the sections into the warm sauce and allowed it to simmer for 15 minutes.

Ingredients

This Asian-style dish comes with a savory sauce to compliment the Dungeness crab. The crab should be steamed first or use precooked Dungeness crab can be used to shorten preparation time. 

Black bean sauce is bottled in small glass jars as a concentrated paste, which can be found in Asian markets or Asian food sections of your local supermarket. A wok is preferred for cooking this dish, but a large cast iron frying pan also works well.

The recipe makes six servings.

• 2 whole Dungeness crab; steamed or pre-cooked
• 1/2 cup black bean Sauce (concentrated paste) 
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons minced or crushed ginger
• 3 tablespoons corn starch mixed in with 1/2 cup warm water
• 3 Tbsp. peanut oil or vegetable oil
• ½ cup of chopped green onion
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparing pre-cooked crab

Clean the crab by lifting its "tail" — the small flap on the abdomen — and continue to pry off the back of the crab completely. With top of the crab facing up, break it into two pieces or "sections."

Remove and discard the gills that are attached to both halves of the meaty section of the body. They look like little fibrous feathers and are pale white or grayish in color and can be easily pulled away. Discard the main body shell.

Detach the crab legs by slicing through the meaty section, leaving a piece of body meat attached to each leg. Slightly crush the leg sections and claws with a meat hammer to allow flavors to seep.

Cooking

1. In wok or frying pan, heat peanut oil or vegetable oil and quickly sauté the garlic and ginger. As the broth comes to boiling, gradually add the black bean sauce — not all at once, because the paste is salty. Add black pepper to taste.
2. Once the taste is to your liking, mix crab in the sauce to infuse flavor into the legs. Push the crab legs upward to the sides of wok to create an empty well at bottom. As the broth continues to boil, a slurry will develop. This brings additional body and flavor to the sauce.
3. Reduce heat to medium high; add the corn starch mixture gradually and stir to thicken the broth/gravy to your liking. Give the final quick mix of crab legs and turn off the heat, ready to serve.
4. If using a serving platter, place the crab legs with claws pointing out to edge of platter and meaty sections in center. Pour the sauce over meaty sections and garnish with chopped green onion. Enjoy.

Recipe 2: Crab with sole 

This recipe showcases a flat fish you may have missed called Petrale Sole. Fick called it "the finest of the flat fishes" that are caught off the Oregon coast.

"When you go into the store, this is really the best 'sole' fish you can get," he said.

Submerge and cover each filet in seasoned flour (salt and pepper added to taste) then place 6 filets on a cookie sheet. Cover in foil and spray with Pam. Broil the filets for just a few minutes to cook through.

Petrale is the firmest of all flat fishes and is prized as mild and sweet. It is a perfect match with Dungeness crab. Fick liberally topped two cups of crab meat across the cooked filets and topped the crab and fish with a rich and easy to prepare hollandaise sauce.

Hollandaise sauce

Here's the classic Hollandaise sauce: lusciously rich, lemony and smooth. Spoon it over fish and seafood for a heavenly touch.

• 3 large egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 cup firm butter

1. In 1 1/2-quart saucepan, vigorously stir egg yolks and lemon juice with wire whisk. Add 1/4 cup of the butter. Heat over very low heat, stirring constantly with wire whisk, until butter is melted.
2. Add the remaining 1/4 cup butter. Continue stirring vigorously until butter is melted and sauce is thickened. Be sure butter melts slowly so eggs have time to cook and thicken sauce without curdling. If the sauce mixture begins to separate, add about 1 tablespoon boiling water and beat vigorously with wire whisk or hand beater until it's smooth.
3. Serve immediately. Store covered in refrigerator. To serve refrigerated sauce, reheat over very low heat and stir in a small amount of water.

Recipe 3: Pasta with crab

The final recipe begins with eight ounces of linguine pasta rising to a short boil as Steve prepared six cups of chopped kale.

"I like the kale in this recipe because it’s healthy for you, and it’s something different that works well with the crab," added Fick.

Fick sautéed half of the crab meat and 3 tablespoons of sun-dried tomatoes in 3 tablespoons of olive oil.

He added 8 ounces of chicken broth to the mixture and allowed it to cook through for 3 minutes before adding the kale. A lid is placed on the frying pan to cook through the kale, about 3-4 minutes.

Ingredients

• 8 ounces linguine pasta
• 1 lb. of crabmeat
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, very finely chopped
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons sun dried tomatoes
• 8 ounces chicken broth
• 6 cups of chopped kale
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped

Preparation

1. Put a pot of salted water on to boil for the pasta. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the water. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Reserve two tablespoons of the water. Pick through the crab to remove any shells and set aside.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté for 1-1/2 minutes. Add the wine and butter and sun-dried tomatoes and continue cooking for 2 minutes.
3. Add half the crabmeat and season with pepper to taste. Cook 1 minute to heat the crab through, then remove from the heat.
4. Combine the linguine with the crab mixture, adding a little of the reserved water if needed to help coat the pasta with the sauce. Add the remaining crab meat, then the parsley, and serve immediately.

Makes 6 servings.

Dinner is served

The table was set, plates were filled and the diners weighed in. 

"These are all relatively easy recipes to prepare," Fick noted. "I think I could even do it."

"I like it: it’s simple, not that hard," added Walt Kastner.

"Amazing! That flavor was really strong, and it was wonderful," added Shannon Dotson, speaking about the black bean sauce.

"The saturation of the flavor between the meat and the shell was delicious. I really liked it," said Jeff Jordan. 

"I’ve never had it this way before — very good!" said Jean Kastner.

I asked one guest diner, Kerry Harsin, which was his favorite.

"My favorite bite was the last one I had!" he replied with a chuckle.

Finally, Fick suggested that all of us should try more diverse crab recipes.

"This is a year-round product that you can easily find in the grocery or your fish counter," he said. "You own this delicious seafood, so take advantage of it."

The Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission wants consumers to try more delicious recipes that are simple, quick and delicious.

Be sure to watch the weekly half hour program of Grant’s Getaways. The show airs each Saturday and Sunday at 4 p.m. on KGW.

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• "Grant’s Getaways: Oregon Adventures with the Kids," Photography by Jeff Kastner

The book collection offers hundreds of outdoor activities across Oregon and promises to engage a kid of any age.

You can reach me at Gmcomie@kgw.com.