Dungeness Crab Hash

[grasswire]

Bumper crop of big meaty crabs in the Pacific Northwest this year! First of the season hit the local market three days ago at $2.99/pound. What to make?? Here's my take:

..............

Dungeness Crab Hash with Meyer Lemon Caper Sauce -- hot or cold as a crab salad.

About one and a half pounds of lump crab meat (I had two crabs, under four pounds.)

juice of one Meyer lemon

1/2 or 2/3 cup best foods mayo (depending on how much you like mayo)

1 T powdered sugar (trust me on this -- it enhances the crabbiness taste factor)

1/4 cup diced red bell pepper

1/4 cup thinly sliced scallions

1/4 cup minced parsley (I used flat leaf Italian)

3/4 cup soft bread crumbs (I used sourdough)

Very gently fold together the ingredients.

Melt 4 T butter in a large skillet or saute pan on medium heat. With a large spoon, drop the crab mixture into the pan in six big mounds. Sort of like crab cakes, but these won't hold together like crab cakes. The reason to keep them separate is to maximaze buttery surface and minimize stirring and turning.

In a small saute pan, melt another 4 T butter. Add another 2 T of sliced scallion and 2 T capers plus caper juice. A grind of black pepper. Simmer on low heat while crab cooks.

Turn the crab just once, when it is lightly browning about the edges. You want it to be hot all the way through and lightly browned, but not overcooked. I would estimate five minutes or so for the cooking time.

Be sure to taste the crab mixture before making it into cakes if there's any possibility that you would rather eat it as a salad. It's just delish either way.

Serve two mounds on a plate with some sauce spooned over.

I served this with some rice alongside, and a salad made of fresh spinach, diced ripe pear, shaved parmesan and a light vinaigrette. The pear was a nice foil for the richness of the crab.

Makes three or four generous portions.

[Tesha]

1. 2.99 a pound?

oh, man....

(says the lady in NH)

[grasswire]

2. I know.......

...and out of the sea within 24 hours.

But ya know, you guys get haddock, clams and lobstah back there. It balances out. I never see haddock here.

[Stinky The Clown]

4. Scrod

We love Scrod.

Or, as they say in Boston, "scrawd".

[The empressof all]

3. I looked last week and they were still 4.99 in the tank

I figured they'd come down this week.... I'll have to pick some up today too.

[hippywife]

5. Soooo...

when can I come ova' for lunch?

Your crab and Stinky's salad would be a killa combo. :thumbsup:

[pengillian101]

6. Aren't you lucky! $2.99/pound

Man, I sure miss living in Seattle - enjoy!

I am so jealous. ;-)

[pengillian101]

7. PS!

That recipe sounds divine! I have made crab cakes before, but this really sounds yummy to me.

No egg for a binder? Maybe that's why it's hash and not cakes, eh? At any rate it must be delicious from the sound of the ingredients. Hash sounds just as good as cakes!

I can never get enough crab ;-)

Edit to say - my first time cooking crab was in Seattle and I was an inexperienced cook to say the least - in my early 20's and far from home, Mom and recipe books. We caught the crabs - and I didn't know how to cook them, obviously. Put them in a pot of cold water and brought it to a boil.

OMG! I will never forget that. What a dumbass I was. It is still to horrifying to describe.

[grasswire]

8. hahaha!

Did you have a lid for that pot??

[pengillian101]

9. Yes, thankfully.

It was difficult to keep the lid on at first. I can still hear it :blush: