Crabbed Saturday

[Pitch Pocket]

Crabbed downstream of Hammond today. Got a late start with my wife and youngest daughter and hit the bay around 10:30 am. Fished 6 tuned Danielsons in 25 feet of water. Three pulls in 90 minutes and 40 keepers. Threw back a couple of soft ones and sorted through for the small ones and ones missing claws and took home 34. Most didn't even need to be measured and quite a few over 8". Got the family together and had a big crab feed. Better get down there before the rains come and they go out to sea.

[rainrshine]

Thanks SjP, I'm going to give Nehelem bay a shot tomorrow hope I dont get too wet

[Hookset]

SjP, Thanks for sharing your trip information. What a great trip, 40 crab in 3 pulls!! I've never had crabbing that good before. Wonder if there's any fish to catch up that way. A combination trip, for crabs and fish would be excellent.

Gregg

[Got Fish?]

Ya we were there on Friday, and had a good day too. In about 3 hours we had limits for 5 people and then some that we threw back on the final pick ups. Had a few nice ones too.

You must have been out there with a bayliner sierra too, he said he had another great day.
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[Pitch Pocket]

Actually, we didn't have another boat in our area. Boat ramps are empty and the river is wide open. I think the crabs are everywhere.

I took rods and bait for a combo trip. I rigged for salmon and sturgeon. Never got a chance to put the rods in the water. Explored channel edges with gps for a couple of miles and it was time to check traps. I check them every 30 minutes to collect and make sure the pots are fishing. By the time I check are re-set 6 pots, I've got 10 minutes before I start again. If it was me and the guys, I'd have fished for a couple of hours before heading home. As it was, it was a nice short sweet day for my daughter. Home for dinner.

[Gregor]

SjP - what do you mean by "tuned" and what bait did you use?

[Pitch Pocket]

The biggest thing in tuning a pot is to make sure the doors swing freely. I use wire forming pliers to re-form the hinge so it is round. Weight the doors with lead. I use pencil lead or 1 oz egg sinkers drilled out to fit the horizontal bar. 1 oz cannonballs or pyramids threaded on and pinched work well too. I hang the top rear edge of a bait cage from the top with wire ties so the opening swings up to fill from the main trap opening. I'll wire tie a Scotty's bait holder on the bottom of it giving me options for loose bait like cockles or guts or even old eggs.

This trip I used salmon heads/bones, shad, sturgeon trimmings, and chopped up old herring baits. I just cleaned out the bottom of the freezer. I use a small camp hatchet filed really sharp and a small chopping block to size the frozen chunks to fit the bait holder. Any small loose stuff goes into the Scotty holders. Even if they get your main bait, the Scotty holders will fish all day. A plus when you have to sort through a bunch of little ones that can get to your bait through the cage.

[fop]

Now with all the Crab you caught how about giving up the way you cook them?

Type of water used? Salt or fresh w/salt added..
What type of cooker?
How long are they cooked?
Do you deback and clean them before cooking?
Any other tricks?

When we cook our Crab we bring home the salt water from where we catch them. 14 to 15 minutes on the propane cooker. We don't add any salt. Then we toast a English muffin, add the Crab meat, top'em off with cheeze and eat till we hurt. Crab Louies aren't to bad either.

fop

[Pitch Pocket]

I clean them at the dock, remove back and innards. I've stopped at KOA and had them cook em for $0.25 each, but you have to wait your turn and then wait while they cook. It delays the trip home. So, I take them home on ice. I've got a 2 burner propane stove with a couple of large kettles and I boil them in salted fresh water for about 15 minutes, 20 or more if I don't clean them first. I'm skeptical about the river water so I use non-iodized salt with the tap water. Plunge in cold water to stop the cooking and you're ready to go. Go to Emeril's site on foodchannel.com and search his crab recipes. Most are outstanding.

[Stz ll]

Let me get this straight. You shell and clean your crab before you cook them? Never heard of such a process. Is there something I have been missing all these years? images/icons/confused.gif images/icons/confused.gif

[Pitch Pocket]

Yup. Wear gloves, grab their little arms in each hand and bang em face first on the corner of a table striking the edge of their shell or crack their belly on the edge (they become real docile after that). Rip the back off, clean the gill stuff and rinse em off. Throw the back and guts away in the docks garbage.

They cook faster, and since you don't cook the guts with the meat, I think it makes the meat sweeter. They cool down faster after you cook them so you avoid over cooking them. It works well for me, you may like it.

One word though, I would not bring cleaned crabs to the dock or you may be fined. If they cannot id the sex, you may be in violation of the male only rule if checked.

[Stz ll]

Thanks SjP I think I will have to give it a try. Cooking the crab without the guts sounds like a good idea.

Does anybody else do it this way?

[Pescador]

Yeh, I clean them first, too. I lay the crab upside down on a chopping block. Put a cleaver down the middle of the shell and give it one or two sharp blows with a rubber mallet. It kills the crab instantly and leaves you with two halves. Remove the upper shell and gills and then take hold of the legs and claw of one half and with the cut side facing away from you, swing it sharply downward in a chopping motion. This cleans out almost all of the remaining goop. Needless to say, this is best done outdoors unless you are looking for a divorce or want to get into a huge clean-up project. With a little practice, I found I could pretty well aim this stuff into a five gallon bucket which makes disposal a lot easier. Rinse the crab under running water and you have clean half crab sections ready to steam or boil. This makes for much cleaner cooking AND picking/eating. I'd never go back to cooking whole crabs.

[Threemuch]

Plus you can fit more crab in a normal sized pot, so you don't have to go out and buy a big propane crab cooker.

[Ol' Blue]

We clean'em before cooking too!! Years ago, we were visiting our parents in Bandon, Oregon and a guy showed us how to do it. He said they taste better if you cook them without the guts and we agree.
Just hold their claws to their body from behind, and hit'em between the eyes with the corner of the sink or table. The shell pops off and break them in half. Use a flinging motion to remove the guts and rinse clean. We ice them down right away and usually cook them within hours of cleaning.
There is only one down side as I see it. When cooking, some crab meat tends to escape into the water. Generally, the loss of crab meat is minimal and the meat is sweeter.

[Pilar]

I've seen people do this and wondered. From knee high I was always taught to cook articulated shellfish live. They spoil very quickly after dying. I store them whole as well. They stay fresh for up to seven days if cooked and then refrigerated whole.

Use a covered, 5 gallon pot, 1/2 full of seawater and a turkey cooker propane burner, the bigger the better. Also throw in an 'Old Bay' spice bag (hot!) or two (extra hot!) which can be bought at Albertsons for $1 ea. This is a mesh bag full of what looks like pickling spice and paprika. Don't sniff the bag or your eyes will water. When the water boils put in 12 crabs. When it boils again time for 10 minutes. Immediately remove the crabs and quench them in a bucket of cold salt water for 5 minutes. This stops the cooking process and cools them so they won't melt all the ice in your cooler. Quenching also makes the meat fall out of the shell when you pick the crabs. You can reuse the cooking water one time. Use fresh saltwater for quenching. Some guys I know use the hot tub water over and over. images/icons/shocked.gif They think it gets better every time. images/icons/shocked.gif

Then we stack them on the pavement face down to drain and cool until its time to go. Pack in ice for the trip home in the cooler. In the fridge line a vegetable drawer with 1/4" thick newspaper and stack crabs for storage. Replace the paper if it gets soaked through. Try to eat them within 3 days for best results. If it is going to sit for longer, I pick the meat and store it in a tupperware with as little air space as possible. Crab picked the same day as caught will keep a week easily in the fridge.

I might try the cook clean method but only if I cook right after cleaning.

This method has worked for me on Crawfish (Louisiana), Lobster (Florida), Blue crab (Virginia and Florida) And Puget sound king crabs (Sequim). Not to mention Dungeness and Red Rock crabs here at home.

In Nachitoches Louisiana, they boil the crawfish with quartered onions, lemons, whole new red potatoes and 3" long chunks of white corn. Oh and a whole lot of red pepper and paprika, Yeoow!

[Pitch Pocket]

Puget Sound King Crab??? Tell me more! I didn't think there were king crab south of Kodiak. Are they the same king crab?

Of course you have to cook them as soon as possible out of the water. I don't think it hurts to clean them, ice them and cook em as soon as you get home. If you can't cook them the same day within a few hours of catching, you don't have time to go crabbing!

If my neighbors and family catch wind that we've crabbed, the little spiders don't last long enough to worry about storage, but I have frozen crab in the shell to save them up to a few months. I put them in a brown paper grocery bag (two crabs if whole and three if in cleaned halves) and vacuum pack em with the food saver. The brown bag helps keep the shells from pucturing the food saver bag. They are suprisingly good even several months later, but it's best to eat them as soon as possible. They clean from the shell easier when you freeze them first too.

I also freeze and vacuum pack picked meat. Freeze quickly to keep the juices in the meat and out of the vacuum pump and then vacuum seal it. I weigh out 1/2 lb packages for crab dip, crab cakes, crab louis, crab salads, crab bisque, crab sandwiches, crab fettucini, crab rolls, cioppino, gumbo and California rolls all through the holiday season.

[RIPPLE]

For years and years I have cooked crab whole, but over the last few years I have shifted to cleaning them first. In reference to Pilar's comment on spoilage - I do crack them when they are alive and fiesty and the halves go directly into a fierce boil. There are two reasons why my thoughts have changed. 1st) TIME: I have a large custom boiler and can cook 60 crab in one batch when they are cleaned first. 15 mins. in a hard boil and I'm done. and 2nd) MESS! what ends up coming home or back to the beach house is one gallon zip-locks with about 10 cleaned crab halves in each.
These points are more for the one day crab slay trip. If your camping with the guys for a long weekend the time and mess are part of the fun.
images/icons/grin.gif RIPPLE images/icons/grin.gif

[SlabQuest]

I have "converted" numerous crabbers to the "clean before cooking method". After trying it, not one has told me he prefers cooking them whole. Also I think the spices in the boil permiate the meat a little better. What other critters do you cook with the guts in? (Think of the fecal material). They spoil quickly when dead only if they are still full of icky-poo images/icons/shocked.gif

[fishbait]

After trying and TASTING both methods, I will never cook a cleaned crab again. It may be easier, but the end product is of poorer quality. For my 0.02 cents worth, it's not worth the short cut.

[Salmonator]

I always shell before cooking. There has also been times where we have waited over 24hrs to cook them w/out any problems as long as they're kept cold and all guts are removed. From what I understand, when the crab dies some kind of poison leaches from the viscera into the meat and spoils it. If there is no guts in the shell I think it can be stored cold uncooked just like cleaned shrimp or razor clams. Just a suggestion, cook at your own risk... images/icons/grin.gif

[ 10-18-2001: Message edited by: Salmonator ]

[Lives_to_fish]

As long as we are talking about methods, grab the crab by the legs and claws from underneath, catch the underside edge of the shell on the corner or edge of the table of the table and peel it off. The shell pops off whole. Break the little devils in half and use a garden hose with a good nozzle and spray out the guts, then boil them for 10-15 Min.