What's The West Coast Dungeness Season Looking Like?

Just wondering what the word is on the Dungeness season further south of Alaska.

Itā€™s a little early. For CA status (i live in zone 4) I start checking this page November 1st. There are usually announcements around that time.

https://wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Marine/Whale-Safe-Fisheries

I also sign up for text alerts from https://www.hhfreshfish.com/

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I think the season doesnā€™t start 'til the 1st week in Nov or so. Iā€™m hoping itā€™s at least decent, because we have a friendā€™s 60th bday weekend planned for the coast, and part of that plan is crab sandwiches & oysters. Possibly more than once.

I havenā€™t heard news yet, but i canā€™t remember the last time the commercial season wasnā€™t delayed, and Christmas wasnā€™t more realistic than Thanksgiving.

The heralding of the Dungeness crab season might be what I will miss most about Chowhound.

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QFC/Kroger (PNW) is advertising previously frozen whole cooked Dungeness this week. $8.99/lb. Doesnā€™t mean they have it in stock, however.

Local Safeway says they have them at 12.99/lb. But it says theyā€™re Alaskan.

BTWā€¦ it says (like many seafoods) ā€œSeafood Counter cooked previously from frozenā€. Why do markets do thisā€¦ if it comes in frozen let me buy it that way, instead of sitting around thawed in the seafood case?

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cooking/cleaning whole crabs isnā€™t difficult, but it IS a mild-to-moderate pain in the ass, requires at least a little knowledge/research (which bits CAN I eat? Which bits SHOULD I eat? How do I open the thing without smashing it with a hammer?) Many, even most (?) people are willing to pay extra to not have to worry about these questions.

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I agree Iā€™d rather just buy it frozen. Luckily where I shop, theyā€™ll have the ā€œpreviously frozenā€ stuff behind the counter but also will have the still frozen stuff either in the back or in the regular freezer section.

My guess is - especially with shrimp or prawn - they thaw for the customer who only wants a smaller portion than the original packaged portion size. Or maybe they just need to fill up some space in the counter section.

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Okā€¦ that is a good point, IF it all comes frozen together. Maybe the swordfish steaks are all in a frozen together block that needs thawing to separate, or perhaps they get larger cuts of fish that require thawing to butcher. But Shrimp or whole Dungeness crabs!? (c;

Maybe folks think it is fresher if it is in the seafood case opposed to selecting it out of the freezer, but up hereā€¦ almost everything in the ā€œfreshā€ seafood case is from frozen, which is usually why I ask to smell it before purchasing (and there are way too many fails).

Iā€™m not usually negative, and I know Iā€™m fortunate to have a choice, but a post about the crab season, then referencing frozen Dungeness is a crushing disappointment!

Granted itā€™s work, but itā€™s only a few months, and thatā€™s if we are lucky.

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Not sure I get what you mean. Where I live now thereā€™s no access to live crab, so cooked, frozen is our only option (other than canned).

I do understand that not many have the option, and I apologize for my ā€œparish-pumpā€ behavior.

:face_with_hand_over_mouth:

ā€œGranted, itā€™s workā€ meant, if it is available to you, recognize that at least in my opinion, you should at least try it ā€œfreshā€, as it tastes very different, even compared to when cooked hours prior.

Iā€™m sure itā€™s all good, but the fresh is something I wait months for.

Two questions
Do you know if they have it live in tanks in Sacramento?
If itā€™s frozen, what difference does the season make?

They DO have it live in tanks in Sacramento. The main place Iā€™d try is Sunh Fish (1313 Broadway). Iā€™ve gotten them there for a couple of years in a row now. Itā€™d also be worth trying some of the Asian markets in town (99 Ranch, SF Supermarket) that have relatively sizable live sections.

I always feel incredibly guilty not using the ā€˜crab butterā€™ fully. Iā€™ll mop up some of it with some bread, but I KNOW thereā€™s more I should do with it, and the shells. But you have to get that stuff out of the house THAT NIGHT or in the morning your kitchen garbage is gonna require a respirator to deal with.

There are 99 Ranch in Sacramento?

It might help to know some years the ā€œbutterā€ is not considered safe.

I freeze the shells and fiddly claw pieces the same night (to make stock for gumbo), but yeah; the rest of it; ā€œoff you go!ā€

I donā€™tā€¦ but even if they do, itā€™s two hours round trip to get it (canā€™t justify that).

None I suppose.

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Understood.

99 Ranch is on Florin road just west of, uh, 99. :slight_smile:

I know about the butter not always being safe, but as far as I know, youā€™d have to eat quite a bit of it, or eat it quite often, for even the ā€˜unsafeā€™ years to make an otherwise healthy adult sick. But Iā€™m only vaguely recalling info I ā€˜heard somewhere onceā€™, so Iā€™m happy to be pointed to better info.

And yeah, using the shells for stock is the move I WANT to make, but freezing the shells never crossed my mind! Do you just rinse off whatever gets left in the shell bowl, put it in a couple of layers of ziplock and chuck it into the deep freeze?

I might have to do that so I can have crab stock next time I want garlicy shrimp pastaā€¦

You are absolutely right! Growing up in Culver City, Redondo Beach, Santa Monica, and Carlsbad, as a certified diver since the age of 13, fresh abalone, clams, mussels, lobster, urchins, and a bunch of other stuff was a given. But for crab (my all time fav Alaskan King), I just went out and ordered it at dozens of places in the 'hood that did it up big time for what was then a reasonable price.

That crab, clams, and the abalone are the things I miss most in modern times. Now-a-days I have come to the realization that everything will be frozen. But if you live in a place where you have the opportunity to buy fresh, ya gotta do it!

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Yes, although I smash up the backs a bit ( which I understand donā€™t add much flavor) so I can fit more, and smash sharp edges so they donā€™t poke holes in the bag. I think the fiddly claws and picked body pieces make the most difference, and as the season goes on, I pick the crab less and less meticulously.

Melanie Wong on Chowhound had a great thread, about streaming them, among other things.

I remember a recipe where the tomalley is finishd with butter in the backs. Not sure, but thereā€™s this.