Your so lucky. I miss cooking my live crab . Would always get them live from h&h seafood at the harbor when I lived in Santa Cruz. Now living in mt shasta.
11.99 a pound . Over cooked and tumbled dry . No thanks.
It’s not in the link, but I usually get mine live at our local Asian market; Country Square Market. I have no idea why it’s called that. Not sure what the prices are this year, but last year about $6 or $7 a pound.
I heard that it was 5.99 at the Daly City 99 Ranch Market and Sunset Super
Costco in Richmond, CA! Already steamed cuz I don’t want to kill anything myself. We’ll be having ours Xmas Eve.
We just bought 8 more huge dungeness crabs and 8 huge Alaskan crab claws from Costco in NJ. We are having some tonight and some for Christmas & New Years:yum:
Just not the same!
I’m jealous of you left coast HOs! I wish I had access to live dungies easily.
Eli,
I was there Saturday. Lobster tails were 25.99 a pound lol. Yeah right 
I was at Drew’s too wednesday. I’ll post some info.
Well, it’s all I know (at home at least), and we love it, so we’re good with it!
Understood! I am going to GET good with it. . My local Lucky’s is sending me emails about the crab.
I always feel wretched listening to the crabs in the cooler in the car, then waiting in a bag outside, and finally thrashing about in the steamer.
I feel awful. But I real!y like the way it tastes.
Darn that Melanie Wong from CH who got me thinking that’s how folks in Nor Cal rolled.
Wow. $25.99 does seem like a lot, but I guess it’s all tail meat. Did you get any Dungeness or Alaskan King crab claws? They are awesome with some drawn butter and Old Bay seasoning.
I’m looking forward to your post on Drew’s. We’re going next Saturday. Let me know what the specials were.
Don’t judge all of us by wussy old me! I just can’t do it/watch it. I saw lobsters being killed (knife method) for a lobster roll party and it horrified me. I know it’s hypocritical, but I just can’t do it. But I’m sure there are MANY in the Bar Area braver than I.
Perhaps you are actually FROM California? My kids are, and they think cooking crabs alive is horrible. Same thing with the live spot prawn. I’m from New York, so maybe that makes it easier to get over it. 
I quit smoking (cigarettes) when I moved here too!
I always would have a toast to the crabs and then give them a splash of beer before going into the pot . I had to cook my own because once they were finished cooking they went immediately into ice in the sink with no water . It’s all about the cooling . I dont think this is happening for store bought .Correct me if I am wrong .
Huh… I’m just reading this Chinese cookbook with pictures and the guy just knives through the abdomen of the crab lol.
Anywho, anyone have some good recipes?
My personal favorite right now is chopping up a bunch of ginger and scallions and jalpeños. Mix that with a bit of chicken stock and a splash of white wine and I think it tastes delicious with rice…
I mostly use a Boulevard (San Francisco restaurant) recipe for crab cakes, one for “hoppin’ john with crab”, and aspire to one for a magnificent chili crab. I don’t seem to have any recipes on hand for sharing.
hah! I didn’t. 
And yes, even tho I was born in NY, I’ve been in CA (first L.A.) since I was 3 mos. old.
Uh, of course, I wasn’t smoking until considerably later. 
$6.99 at Country Square Market. And they didn’t have rice noodles rolls or wrappers. 
" Melanie Wong 01/07/0111:26pm re: Fred
Instead of boiling, you might try steaming the crabs. I like to cook my own because I want the crab fat under the carapace and it must be freshly cooked. If you boil them, most of the fat runs out into the boiling liquid. The flavor is much more intense, the meat is less water-logged and needs no added salt when steamed. But I will caution you that the aroma when you take the lid off is incredibly overpowering because all the crab juices are concentrated into such a small amount of liquid.
Only an inch of water is needed in the bottom of the pan, takes less time to heat up. Once itÂ’s boiling, lay the live crab in the pot dorsal side down (to catch the fat in the carapace). Hold it from the posterior end and the claws canÂ’t reach you. Depending on size, cooking time is 12 to 17 mins. The legs will be ready in 12 mins., and sometimes IÂ’ll pull those off to start cracking while the rest of the crab finishes cooking."
I want to make this chili crab recipe from Serious Eats but usually get into a rabbit hole about starting from raw, and using the innards.
One of my steamed crabs.
