August 1, 2012 in The Ingredient, Dungeness Crab: 1 Ingredient, 3 Chef Creations. Vote for your favourite.
Dungeness Crab: Pride of the West Coast
BY Ned Bell
Executive Chef
Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver
Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver
Which of these three recipes look most appetising to you? Vote on your favourite now!
Dungeness crab is different from King Crab in size and shape. This is a purple-brownish guy with a shell about eight inches across; a big body and long legs. Most of the meat is in the legs: sweet, briny and creamy. Dungeness adapts easily to all techniques and treatments, including French, Asian and South Asian.
I love to steam it with butter and garlic, fry it with chilis and lemon or blend it into soups, crab cakes and pasta dishes. For YEW, we find our crab in the waters as close as underneath the urban Lions Gate Bridge and well out to the Gulf Islands and beyond. It’s named after the port of Dungeness, Washington.
| SEASON: | Autumn. |
| REGION: | Pacific Northwest. |
| TASTE: | Sweet and meaty. |
| SELECTION: | Pick the largest one possible as it will have the highest ratio of meat. Make sure that the crab has its front claws and the leg immediately behind it as they have the most meat in them. |
| PREPARATION: | If you purchased your crab live, keep it on ice until you are ready to cook it, no more than about eight hours after purchase. You can steam, fry, or blend it into soups, crab cakes and pasta dishes. |
Flavour Profile
Ned Bell
Executive Chef
On Canada’s West Coast, we love our shellfish, especially Dungeness. This crab is a versatile jewel plucked from our ocean right here in the Pacific Northwest.
In Vancouver, Canada, my hometown, Dungeness crab is well known and loved locally. This crab a high-quality, Ocean Wise choice, sweet and meaty (one-quarter of its weight is meat) with real flavour—second to none, comparable to the ornery Eastern blue-claw—which is why it’s one of my favourite ingredients to cook with. One of the best things about Dungeness is that it’s available locally all year—and having a great relationship with my fishmongers ensures that we get the freshest local catch with our crabs delivered live. It doesn’t get fresher than that! I wouldn’t recommend using frozen crab. Find a good fish store and get it live. Look for the spunky ones and pass on any sad, droopy looking creatures. No matter how you prepare it, Dungeness is always good.
Benefits
Eating seafood is linked to lower rates of heart disease, so including Dungeness crab in your meal plan ensures you're making a heart-smart choice. If you're concerned about the mercury levels in seafood or shellfish, rest assured that crab meat contains very low levels, making it safe to eat.
COMMENTS
Well done Chef Ned
I miss those tacos !!!!
Comment by Stephane on December 11, 2012 at 7:55 pm