On Canada Day, after the Cannery closed, I had a bit of time to kill before my pick-up arrived, so I went down to one of my absolute favourite places in Steveston, the sales float at  Fisherman’s wharf. For the first time this year there were two fishing boats selling dungeness crab. The going rate was $10 each, which is excellent, considering some of the inflated market prices. I was really tempted to buy some, but sadly, my $5 was insufficient. After asking one of the fisherman when they would be back, I decided to return with the right amount for the next weekend (the crab fishermen will be at the sales floats on Saturday and Sunday). For today’s post, I thought it would be appropriate to blog about how to cook and prepare fresh dungeness crab.

1. Get a fresh dungeness crab – Steveston Fisherman’s wharf or catch your own with a fishing licence.
2. Cook the crab – you can steam or cook the crab in boiling water. Be sure to calculate 7 to 8 minutes per pound. If you have more than one crab, calculate the average pound. Once the crab is cooked, rinse it off and cool enough to handle it.
3. Remove the apron – insert your thumb at the base of the apron and snap off.
4. Remove the carapace – remove the carapace from the main body.
5. Remove the gills – the gills are spongy and inedible, remove them from either side of the body.
6. Remove the mandibles.
7. Optional according to taste – rinse off the interior cavity including the greenish-brown soft interior. Some enjoy eating this part, also known as “the mustard.” 
8. Break in half.
9. Serve.

This guide to preparing crab is adapted from the  instructables website.

Posted by websitedev

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