Half Moon Bay is always one of our favorite places to go when we want a quick change of pace. In the summer, it's guaranteed to be 20 degrees cooler (which is nice when it gets over 100 in San Jose) and the beaches are great for just kicking back and listening to the surf pound the shore.
But right now it's winter, and that means two things: Mavericks and Crabs.
Back in the day when I was on the pro-surfing circuit, I used to look forward to catching a few gnarly swells with Laird Hamilton and the boys. But ever since stubbing my toe on a coral reef in Waimea, I've had to lay off the big wave surf (doctor's orders, mind you.) So now we head to Half Moon Bay for the Dungeness crabs.
If you've never had really fresh Dungeness, you owe it to yourself to to go down -- this weekend -- and pick up a few to bring home. They are much better than anything you can trust from a seafood shop, even when buying from the live tank.
Why? Once crabs are taken out of their ocean, they are no longer fed. Although they can go on living like this in a tank for weeks, their bodies start to burn protein in order to survive. That means that you get noticeably less meat as the crab gets older.
Finding a crab at the Marina is easy. If you're coming from the Peninsula, just take 92 until you reach hwy 1, and then head north a few miles to Princeton-by-the-Sea. Park next to the excellent Half Moon Bay Brewery (you know, for later) and walk down the the little marina. There you'll find several boats with fresh crabs ready for sale.
Choosing your crab
1. Most crab boats that we looked at seemed pretty much the same, but not all of them!
Be sure to find a boat that has crabs still in the salt water (see photo) and not just flopping around in the pot they were caught in.
2. Make sure your crab has all of its legs. Some boats charge less for maimed crabs, but hey - you didn't just drive 30 miles for a gimped arthropod, did you? Expect $5 to $6 per pound, or about $20 for two crabs.
3. One crab per person is about the right amount. The little buggers are pretty rich (especially when dunked in Plus Gras!) and by the time you finish cracking that bad boy open, your stomach will have caught up with your appetite.
Cooking your crab
There are certainly some fancy recipes for cooking crab, but none finer than simply boiling them, and definitely none easier. In fact, crab is about as easy as Top Ramen, so if you were able to manage this back in your college days, the Dungeness is no match your your maad skillz. Here's how:
1. Boil a large pot of water
2. Add crab. Leave in for 8 minutes
3. Remove crab
Consume!
Ok, not so fast. Of course you'll need to prep the crab now that it's cooked. You'll want to be sure to pick up a shell-cracker from a cooking store (e.g. Bed Bath) -- preferably one with some rubber on the grips -- for the dismantling you're going to have to do.
The legs are WYSIWYG - just start cracking and popping, and you'll get the hang of it. The body takes a bit more patience, but I think its actually the best part of a Dungeness crab, so don't make a rookie mistake and --gasp-- throw it away.
After removing all the legs, just flip the crab upside-down and locate its "tail" -- this little flap that tucks under near the rear. Peel this back and tear it off. Then I usually insert a blunt table knife up inside the slot, and then slowly pry my way around the upper shell and the inside body. One trip around will be plenty to pop this sucker off.
Once inside, you'll notice some unsavory looking bits that are the equivalent of a lobster's "tamale" (brains) and other such bits. If you like the tamale, then by all means dig in. Otherwise, just rinse these unmentionables off in the sink. Ultimately, you'll have a nice chunks of sweet, juicy crab meat tucked in to a maze of very thin shell that you can crack open with your fingers.
Ah yeah, that is the good stuff...
Bonus - Crab quote!
Have you ever watched a crab on the shore crawling backward in search of the Atlantic Ocean, and missing? That's the way the mind of man operates.
H. L. Mencken