Get Crackin’ on Dungeness Crab Season with These Delectable Recipes

Big, bold Southeast Asian flavors team up in a perfect balance of salty, sweet, hot, and aromatic.

Recipe:  Cracked Crab with Lemongrass, Black Pepper, and Basil

Leftover crab meat stars in this tangy, creamy pasta that incorporates creme fraiche, lemon, fennel, and fresh pasta.

Recipe: Dungeness Crab Pasta

If you have shells from a cracked-crab feast, make this delicious bisque the following day. “Slow and low is the only trick to cooking it,” Jordan Davis of Herringbone Restuarants says. Top with leftover shelled cooked crab, if you have some—it’s not absolutely necessary.

Recipe: Crab Bisque

Dungeness is always on the menu at chef Joshua Delgado’s Alderbrook, set right on Washington’s Hood Canal. These outstanding Benedicts skip the customary English muffin to showcase just crisp crabcake, egg, and hollandaise.

Recipe: Crabcake Eggs Benedict

Despite being quite a distance from an ocean, chef-owner Cullen Campbell, of Crudo in Phoenix, serves impeccable seafood. He simmers these plump gnocchi, but the mixture is also excellent pan-fried as crabcakes.

Recipe: Crab and Spinach Gnocchi

SoCal-based Jordan Davis, of Herringbone Restaurants, grew up in San Francisco, devouring Dungeness every Christmas Eve. Although you can buy and serve precooked crab, the cooking process isn’t difficult, and the resulting flavor, texture, and freshness can’t be beat. (For how to cook, clean, and crack crab, go to sunset.com/crabvideo.) Use leftover meat and shells for bisque.

Recipe: Cracked Crab with Butter and Citrus

The ocean flavor of Dungeness meets earthy hominy in this twist on the Mexican soup called posole. “Dungeness crabmeat has a natural orange-red hue from the shell that makes the salad look vibrant,” says chef Aniedra Nichols of Elway’s Cherry Creek in Denver. You could also use shrimp, scallops, or fat flakes of Pacific cod.

Recipe: Crab Posole Salad

Packed with fresh crab, these indulgent appetizers are a step up from the rangoons (deep-fried dumplings) often sold at Chinese restaurants. They can be made ahead and frozen, then cooked when guests arrive. Set out several dipping sauces, as everyone seems to have a favorite.

Recipe: Crab Rangoons

While Dungeness crab may seem like a splurge for a weeknight, when you add it to this family favorite a little goes a long way.

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