Cooking & Serving Tips...

Our Live Dungeness crab is both versatile and easy to prepare.  Place live crab in boiling salted water and cook for 18-20 minutes (after the water returns to a boil), turning the shell bright orange. Immerse in cold water to cool before cleaning. Fresh Whole-Cooks can be served chilled or heated in a steamer, broiler or oven for 4 to 5 minutes. Clean the crab by removing the gills and viscera before serving. Serve with melted butter or dipping sauce.  Dungeness meat also goes well with pasta, in casseroles and in seafood-based soups.

Keep Us Cold and Fresh

Refrigerate for up to two days in the fridge before cooking them up.

If you wish to keep longer than two or three days, pack in a moisture and vapor proof container. Crumple plastic wrap or lightweight foil and place in top of container to exclude all air. Cap container tightly and freeze.

Once you're ready, follow these simple instructions:

Cleaning Instructions

1. To remove the back, hold base of crab with one hand, place thumb under shell at mid-point, and pull off the shell.

2. The leaf-like gills are now exposed. 

3. Gently scrape them away with thumb or spoon edge.

4. Wash away the "crab butter" (viscera) under a heavy stream of cold water.

Cracking Instructions

1. Twist or cut off each leg (including the two large legs with claws) where they join the body.

2. The large claws can be hard on your fingers, so save yourself the energy and use a crab or nut cracker. Or place on a cutting board and give a light whack with a mallet or small hammer.

3. Repeat the cracking procedure on the top two joints of rest of legs. Be sure to get every piece of succulent meat. Smaller joints of legs can be snapped with fingers and meat either sucked out or removed with pick or fork. The tip of a crab leg works great as well!