From bay to table

We recently took a trip to the Oregon coast to visit my folks and while we were there, we got to go crabbing for Dungeness crab (the best kind IMO). While we had a blast motoring around Nestucca Bay on a perfect fall day in the boat, the real fun came when we pulled up the pots full of tasty crab. Of course, we had to throw back most of them, which were either too small or female, but we ended up with 3 sizeable beauties to take home for dinner.

Here’s the journey to the table:

It all started with the boat, which belongs to my dad. He was kind enough to take us out early one morning to catch the incoming tide.Crab boat

If you want to catch some crab, you’re going to need some traps. These sturdy box traps allow the crabs to enter, but prevent them from leaving. They also keep the seals from stealing your bait (we used chicken) and crab.

Crab trap

These were the catch of the day! Aren’t they pretty?

Crab alive

We boiled them for about 20 minutes.

Crab pot

And when they come out of their hot bath, they look like this. Gorgeous.

Crab cooked

We like crab. A lot. We like it with some crusty bread and clarified butter, on salad with French dressing or just plain by itself. But one of our favorite ways to eat it is in cake form as in crab cakes. Here are all the ingredients, the most important being Dungeness crab.

Crab cake ingredients

We bake them in the oven on a cookie sheet, which is healthier than frying and allows us to do more than just a couple at a time in a pan on the stovetop. We use a recipe from Cook’s Country.

And then we have the finished product: crab cakes.

 

 

Crab cakes 2Give them a squirt of lemon and they are ready to eat. From bay to table. Easy as pie, or should I say cake?

5 thoughts on “From bay to table

  1. Yum!! I’ve never eaten crab much, but you sure make it look good! That looks amazing. Hope you guys are well!! 🙂

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