Crab in season: a Mendocino expedition yields fresh, simple Dungeness dishes - Food

Sunset, Dec, 2003 by Sara Schneider

We set out in search of crab aboard El Patron, which nosed away from the Rumblefish dock in Noyo Fishing Center, then lifted its prow into the white mist to plow past the black cliffs of Northern California's Mendocino coast. Mountainous swells and bitter wind questioned our judgment on this midwinter day. But a rainbow broke through the mist in favor of the mission. Temporarily distracted by a cry of "Pod off the port side!" we followed some whales, and the rainbow followed us. Crab isn't an urgent matter, after all; it's just part of the bigger rhythm here.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Finally, though, we pulled some crab pots, only to study their low-tech mechanisms for allowing undersize specimens and unwanted critters to escape--safeguards to help sustain the stock and surrounding marine life. It wasn't a great year for harvesting Dungeness, but there was hope: Crabbers were spotting large numbers of "teenagers," which would soon be big enough to harvest. The cycle goes up and down, part of that natural rhythm.

In the end, we found the crab we were looking for--back on the dock, where Capt'n Bobino (Pete Huckins, in other settings), local seafood distributor, crab shack proprietor, and general character, took a machete to some crustaceans pulled in by savvier crabbers than we. He dropped them into a cast-iron skillet with olive oil and garlic, doused them with sherry and butter, and gussied them up with vermicelli. Even the baguettes went into the pan. Not a pretty dish, but the sauce dripping off our elbows as we dipped into it testified to the pleasure of crab.

Crab tips

* As a shortcut to purchasing live crabs and cooking and cleaning them at home, buy cooked crabs and have them cleaned and cracked at the market.

* Crack the crab--or have it cracked--before adding it to warm or cold sauces, so flavors can seep under the shell.

* Provide crab crackers or nutcrackers to break shells further, containers to hold discarded shells, and damp towels or bowls of water to clean messy hands.

Capt'n Bobino's Fisherman-style Crab

PREP AND COOK TIME: About 35 minutes

NOTES: Huckins uses live crabs in this dish, cutting each in half lengthwise, then between the legs, into pieces that include part of the body. Then he cleans the pieces and cracks them slightly with a mallet or hammer. We start with cooked crabs (see "Crab Tips," below left), but for the freshest possible flavor, ask your seafood merchant to cut, clean, and crack the live crabs as Huckins does; add them after sauteing the garlic in step 3 and stir often for about 10 minutes before adding the fish.

Huckins also mixes the pasta into the pan once the crab and fish are cooked, serving the dish straight from there. Follow suit for a lively party, letting everyone dip into the common pot.

MAKES: 4 to 6 servings

  2  cooked Dungeness crabs
     (about 2 lb. each), cleaned
     and cracked (see notes)

  1  pound boned, skinned, firm
     white-fleshed fish such as halibut

3/4  cup (3/8 lb.) butter

1/4  cup olive oil

1/4  cup minced garlic

  1  cup dry sherry or dry white wine

1/3  cup lemon juice

1/2  cup chopped parsley

     Salt and pepper

  8  ounces dried angel hair pasta

     Lemon wedges

  1  baguette (about 8 oz.), sliced

1. In a 5- to 6-quart pan over high heat, bring 4 quarts water to a boil.

2. Rinse crabs and fish and pat dry; cut fish into 1- to 1 1/2-inch pieces.

3. Add butter and olive oil to a 12-inch frying pan (with sides at least 2 1/2 in. tall) or 14-inch wok over medium-high heat; when butter is melted, add garlic and stir just until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Add fish and turn pieces occasionally until beginning to brown, 2 to 3 minutes.

4. Pour in sherry and lemon juice; gently add crabs. Sprinkle with parsley. Cover and simmer until crabs are hot and fish is opaque but still moist-looking in the center (cut to test), 5 to 6 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

5. Meanwhile, add angel hair pasta to boiling water; cook, stirring occasionally, until barely tender to bite, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain pasta well and spread in the bottom of a wide serving bowl.

6. Pour crab mixture over pasta and garnish with lemon wedges. Serve with baguette slices to sop up the sauce.

Per serving: 751 cal., 44% (338 cal.) from fat; 39 g protein; 37 g fat (16 g sat.); 53 g carbo (2.3 g fiber); 723 mg sodium; 160 mg chol.

Mendo Crab Cakes

PREP AND COOK TIME: About 45 minutes

NOTES: The point of a crab cake is pure crab flavor, not filler, according to Nicholas Petti, chef-owner of Mendo Bistro in Fort Bragg. He won the Mendocino Crab & Wine Days Crabcake Cookoff in both 2002 and 2003 with these simple cakes. The winning wine with crab at the first competition, a Handley Cellars Sauvignon Blanc, is perfect with them.

As a shortcut for the tarragon aioli--or if you're concerned about possible bacteria in raw eggs--substitute 1 1/2 cups mayonnaise mixed with 1/4 cup chopped fresh tarragon, 1 1/2 to 2 table-spoons minced garlic, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, and hot sauce and salt to taste. Start the cabbage salad first, then make the aioli and crab cakes.