Dungeness Crabs
I crave for Dungeness crabs ever since Shane introduced them to me. I grew up feasting on mud crabs that my dad caught at his work place in Port Klang, Malaysia. Over time, my parents would buy them in the market. It became a ritual to cook crabs whenever my aunt and her family visited us during the holidays. When I introduced mud crabs to Shane, he went “mmmeeehhh” not particularly liking the ‘muddy’ taste of the meat. I didn’t think they tasted muddy at all. Then I ate freshly caught Dungeness crabs and I was hooked! Oh man! Shane was right, the meat is sweet and delicious. So feasting on Dungeness crabs become a ritual every time we visit Maureen and James in their beach house in Rockaway Beach, Oregon.
Crabbing at Garibaldi Bay
James owns a dory boat that he launches at the public pier in Garibaldi. Last year I got sea sick when we went out to the Pacific Ocean for crabbing. The sea was really rough that day and ever since than I always hesitate whenever the guys want to go out into the ocean. Today is a beautiful day for crabbing at Garibaldi Bay. The waves aren’t strong at all but we are taking caution to introduce me slowly back to the water! Ha…ha…ha… The good thing is Maureen shares the same plight, getting sea sick when out in the rough ocean. The guys drop the crab pots (crab cages) into the water. Then James sails us to a tiny sandy island to wait for the crabs to crawl into the crab pots.
Picnic on an Island
Maureen has packed our breakfast earlier this morning. We sit on tree trunks and beach chairs that we brought along, munching our sandwiches and watching boats sailing by. This is such a nice spot, to have a picnic on an island all by ourselves. Afterwards, we take a stroll along the beach and listen to music. I think this is the best way to wait for crabs to fill up our crab pots – by staying on solid ground!
Good Catch
We climb back up into the dory boat after about an hour on the beach. Shane helps hook the ropes attached to the crab pots while James navigates the boat. We have quite a good catch. Some of the smaller crabs and females have to be thrown back into the sea. At the end of the haul we manage to take home 11 crabs using 3 crab pots. Not bad for an hour spent sitting at the beach.
Delicious Dungeness Crabs
This is the best part of crabbing – when James has cleaned the crabs and boiled them. The delicious Dungeness crabs are served right away with a simple lemon butter dipping sauce and grilled sweet corns we brought from Shane’s friend. I ate the most crabs today, taking my sweet time eating and picking the shells clean. When my stomach’s full, I pick the rest of the crab meat for Maureen to make her delicious crab omelette for breakfast tomorrow. I now swear delicious Dungeness crabs are the best crabs in the world!
