The Dungeness crab (*Metacarcinus magister*) — named for the town of Dungeness on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington state — is the Pacific Northwest's most prized shellfish and the region's answer to Maine lobster and Chesapeake blue crab. The crab is harvested from the cold waters of the Pacific from Alaska to Central California, with the season opening in December and running through spring. The Dungeness crab feed — whole crabs boiled or steamed and cracked at the table — is the Pacific Northwest's communal shellfish event, equivalent to the Maine lobster bake, the Chesapeake crab feast, and the Louisiana crawfish boil.
A large crab (typically 700g-1.2kg) with a wide, rounded shell, sweet, delicate, white meat, and a flavour that is milder, sweeter, and more nuanced than blue crab or king crab. The meat from the body, the claws, and the legs is distinct in texture and flavour: leg meat is the most delicate, claw meat is the firmest, and body meat is the most abundant. The crab is cooked whole — boiled or steamed in salted water — and served with drawn butter, lemon, and crusty bread.
Whole cracked crab: drawn butter, lemon, sourdough bread (San Francisco), or crusty bread. Cioppino: crusty bread for the broth. Crab Louie: as a main-course salad. Dry white wine — Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, or a dry Riesling. The sweetness and delicacy of Dungeness want clean, bright, acidic accompaniments.
1) Cook live or just-killed — Dungeness crab must be alive until immediately before cooking. Dead crab deteriorates rapidly and develops an ammonia taste. 2) Boil or steam in heavily salted water (sea-water salinity) for 15-18 minutes per kg. The shell turns bright orange-red when done. 3) Ice bath after cooking (if not eating immediately) — stops the carry-over cooking that toughens the meat. 4) The cleaning: after cooking, remove the top shell, remove the gills (feathery grey organs — inedible), and rinse the body cavity. The orange "butter" (hepatopancreas) inside the body cavity is edible and intensely flavoured — prized by some, discarded by others.
Cioppino — the San Francisco fisherman's stew (Dungeness crab, clams, mussels, shrimp, and fish in a tomato-wine broth) — is the Dungeness crab's most famous cooked application. It descends from the Italian fishing community of North Beach and is the Pacific Coast's answer to bouillabaisse. The Dungeness crab Louie (or Louis) — crab meat over shredded lettuce with a Thousand Island-style dressing, hard-boiled egg, tomato, and avocado — is the classic Pacific Northwest lunch, served at every white-tablecloth restaurant from San Francisco to Seattle.
Overcooking — the meat becomes stringy and loses its sweetness. Err on the side of slightly under-cooking; the residual heat in the shell continues to cook the meat. Not cleaning properly — the gills and intestinal tract should be removed.
James Beard — Delights and Prejudices; Rowan Jacobsen — A Geography of Oysters (Pacific shellfish context)