Easy Steamed Dungeness Crab

Name: Easy Steamed Dungeness Crab
Prep time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 1 crab (8 ounces of crabmeat)
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon kosher salt; 1 (2-pound) whole live Dungeness crab; Aioli (recipe link in intro); Warm melted butter; Cucumber Mignonette (recipe link in intro)

Crab San Francisco Bay Area Christmas Steaming Seafood Gluten Free Shellfish Winter Pescatarian Dungeness Crab Main Dish Easy

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1 crab (8 ounces of crabmeat) Easy

Total: 30 mins Active: 15 mins

6 Ratings

Ingredients (5)

For the crab:

1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 (2-pound) whole live Dungeness crab

For serving:

Aioli (recipe link in intro)
Warm melted butter
Cucumber Mignonette (recipe link in intro)

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When Dungeness crab season starts on the West Coast (usually between November and December, depending on location), there’s a mad dash to cook and eat as many fresh live crabs as possible before it ends. Steaming whole crabs and cleaning them might sound intimidating, but the process is relatively easy: Just boil the crabs, remove a few select pieces of the shell, clean out a few squidgy bits, and rinse. The real fun is cracking and picking them. Make sure to have seafood crackers or small hammers on hand to get at all of the sweet, flaky meat. If you find yourself with leftover crabmeat, use it in our Crab Cakes or Crab and Fontina Stuffed Mushrooms.

Special equipment: Once your crab is cooked and cleaned, extract the meat by cracking the claws, legs, and body open with small hammers or seafood crackers.

Game plan: Fresh live crab should be purchased and cooked the same day—the crabs can only be stored in the refrigerator for a few hours once taken out of their holding tanks.

If your crab is not exactly 2 pounds, calculate about 7 to 8 minutes of steaming time per pound (after the water returns to a boil). If you’re cooking more than one crab at a time, calculate the average weight by taking the total weight of the crabs and dividing by the number of crabs you have. Use this average weight to determine your total steaming time, about 7 to 8 minutes per pound. And be sure to use an extra-large pot with a tight-fitting lid.

You’ll need to make a batch of our Aioli and Cucumber Mignonette before you begin.

See also Chowhound’s easy guide on How to Steam Lobster and How to Cook Crawfish.

by Christine Gallary

Tips for Crab and Christmas

Tip

How to Store Crab

Live crab (fresh meat) should not be stored in the fridge. They must be kept alive (typically in aerated water) until they are cleaned and cooked. Putting a crab in the fridge will kill them and you should never cook a dead crab. Cooked crab meat, if stored in an airtight container, can last three to five days refrigerated.

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Next: How to Freeze Crab

Tip

How to Freeze Crab

Freezing cooked crab meat is quite easy. Simply store it in an airtight container or heavy-duty freezer bag. You can also wrap the meat tightly with foil or freezer wrap. Frozen crab meat will maintain its best quality for up to three months.

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Next: How to Thaw Crab

Tip

How to Thaw Crab

Placing crab meat in the refrigerator is the safest and most effective way to thaw it. Because frozen crab is prone to dryness, be sure to substitute its loss of natural juices with a wet ingredient like mayonnaise.

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Next: Why Do We Celebrate Christmas on Dec. 25?

Tip

Why Do We Celebrate Christmas on Dec. 25?

There are several reasons Christmas is celebrated on Dec. 25. The date is nine months after March 25, a day recognized by Christians as Annunciation. It was the day Mary was told she would was having a baby. The nine months that follow are an approximation of Jesus’ birth. Dec. 25 also coincides with pagan Winter Solstice celebrations like Saturnalia' and Dies Natalis Solis Invicti. Since they were historically celebrated around that time of year there was precedent for holiday festivities during this time of year.

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Next: What Does the Name 'Christmas' Mean and What Is the Meaning of Christmas?

Tip

What Does the Name 'Christmas' Mean and What Is the Meaning of Christmas?

Christmas is a shortened from the words “Christ’s mass.” It’s derived from the Middle English word "Cristemasse" which has Greek, Hebrew and Latin origins. Christmas is an annual holiday that honors the birth of Jesus Christ. It is celebrated by Christians around the world and is regarded as an important religious and cultural holiday.

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Next: How Can We Celebrate Christmas?

Tip

How Can We Celebrate Christmas?

Christmas is traditionally celebrated in many ways and celebrations vary across cultures. In the days leading up to Christmas, people usually put up special decorations including colorful lights and evergreen trees. Gifts are often placed under the tree and exchanged on Christmas day among loved ones. Large meals are also typically served as part of the celebration as well.

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Next: How to Store Crab

Instructions

1Fill a large pot with 1 inch of water and stir in the salt. (Be sure your pot has a tightfitting lid.) Place a steamer rack inside of the pot. (If you don’t have a steamer rack, lightly bunch a long piece of foil so that it looks like a rope. Then make a figure eight out of the foil rope and set it in the pot.)
2Bring the water to a boil over high heat. Using tongs, pick up the crab, grasping it from behind and placing one arm of the tongs on the belly and the other on the back with the legs on either side. Place the crab back side up in the steamer rack. Cover and return the water to a full boil, about 1 minute. Reduce the heat to medium high and steam until the crab is cooked through, about 15 minutes more.
3Using tongs, remove the crab to a colander and rinse under cold water until cool enough to handle.
4Place the crab belly side up on a cutting board with the face closest to you. Using your hands or the tip of a knife, lift the triangular piece of shell at the tail of the crab (the apron), break it off, and discard. Pick up the crab with your hands, place a thumb in the hole where the apron was, and pull in one motion to remove the top shell (the carapace) from the rest of the body. Discard the carapace.
5Place the crab belly side down on the cutting board with the tail closest to you. Remove and discard the soft, pointy gills from the body. Break off and discard the mouthpiece (the mandibles). Pull away any loose fragments from the body and discard. Rinse away any viscera under cold water.
6Place the crab on the cutting board back side up and cut in half from face to tail through the middle of the body. If desired, cut the crab into smaller pieces by slicing between the legs, making sure to cut through the body.
7To extract the meat, use seafood crackers or small hammers to crack open the claws, legs, and body. Serve with aioli, melted butter, or cucumber mignonette for dipping.