Holiday Crab Boils

December 1, 2004

Holiday Crab Boils

Northwesterners love the region’s native crab—Dungeness—for its rich, sweet taste; big nuggets of meat; and large body size. Many of us make Dungies (as they are fondly nicknamed) the focus of our Christmas-Eve suppers by boiling them and serving with simple sauces such as Aïoli (garlic mayonnaise), spicy cocktail sauce, or melted butter. The two crab boil mixes below are among my favorites.

Spicy Crab Boil

Although the sweet, distinctive meat of the Dungeness crab is a joy to eat plain and unadulterated, sometimes it’s fun to spice it up a bit, as in this piquant version of the traditional crab boil.

3 cups water
1 teaspoon yellow mustard seed
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 bay leaf
1 precooked 2- to 2 1/2-pound Dungeness crab in the shell
In a large stockpot or Dutch oven, bring water, mustard seed, red pepper flakes, and bay leaf to a boil and add crab. Turn down heat to a simmer and cook 3 to 5 minutes, turning crab once.
Drain crab and serve immediately.
Serves 1 as an entrée; 2 as an appetizer

Tarragon Crab Boil

This elegant poaching liquid, infused with the essence of anise-flavored tarragon, takes the already superlative Dungeness crab to new heights. It can also be used to boil shell-on Alaskan spot prawns or shrimp or as a poaching liquid for a variety of fish fillets.

2 cups water
1 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon dried tarragon, crumbled
1 precooked 2- to 2 1/2-pound Dungeness crab in the shell
In a large stockpot or Dutch oven, bring water, white wine, and tarragon to a boil and add crab. Turn down heat to a simmer and cook 3 to 5 minutes, turning crab once.
Drain crab and serve immediately.
Serves 1 as an entrée; 2 as an appetizer

Cook’s Note: The crab feed is a Northwest tradition that, besides taking place during the winter holidays, can take place on the beach, in the backyard, or in the privacy of one’s home. Crab feeds are informal affairs where newspapers thrown on the picnic table take the place of tablecloths, while paper napkins (and lots of them) stand in for the more fancy cloth. Dungeness crab, the star of the show, can be served chilled or (as I prefer) warmed in a spicy or herb-infused crab boil, as in the recipes given above. Popular side dishes include sourdough bread and tossed green salad (the bare minimum), and/or cole slaw, baked beans, potato salad, and garlic bread for the more ambitious. Live music and dancing, along with lots of cold beer and crisp white Northwest wines are popular additions to any crab feed.