Red crab vs dungy

What is the taste difference?  I never ate crab til last year anyway. I been thinking of putting my traps to more frequent use.

The taste difference is subtle IMO.

However the red rock crabs have much thicker shells as opposed to dungees. Also redrock crabs have a lot less meat in their legs and "belly". Red rock crabs do have very large delicious claws though.

Both species are worth eating!

One is targeted ... the other is eaten only when you don't catch dungies.

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I know a few folks that like the reds better than dungies.

Texture is different between the two.  I find Dungeness tend to be sweeter.  Reds are ok but I'll take Dungeness every time.

One is targeted ... the other is eaten only when you don't catch dungies.

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I dunno.  Cracked and boiled, reds make a great stock.  Not sure I'd "waste" a dungy on that.  Try it as the base of a clam chowder some time ... mmm mm yum.

-Allen

I dunno.  Cracked and boiled, reds make a great stock.  Not sure I'd "waste" a dungy on that.  Try it as the base of a clam chowder some time ... mmm mm yum.

-Allen

That sounds really good.  Do you clean them or use the whole crab, and what's your crab to water ratio?

One is targeted ... the other is eaten only when you don't catch dungies.

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I dunno.  Cracked and boiled, reds make a great stock.  Not sure I'd "waste" a dungy on that.  Try it as the base of a clam chowder some time ... mmm mm yum.

-Allen

OK .... let me spare you the discovery part of this whole process. Here is the exact scenario that proceeds the discovery of this great chowder base.

Scene:  Crabbing in piss poor weather, tired of fighting swell, current, wind and rain you finally set the three crab traps you drug out on top of your kayak. Two hours after setting them you want to get the hell off the water b/c it just plain sucks. An hour later you find your first pot just barely above water due to the ripping current. You pull it to find it packed with three of the biggest starfish you have ever seen. You cuss and throw them over board. You spend another hour paddling around trying to find your last two damn pots. The way point for you second pot is completely empty! Gear gone ... pissed off, cold and tired you move on to your third pot. Finally you spot the bouy a foot under water. After some tricky work with a net and gaff hook you finally have the rope in hand and are bringing up your last pot and it is HEAVY.

Then you see color! It is stuffed full of crab. So you get to work with your crab gauge: female, female, male but tiny, female, female, female, male but just a hair short .... then about 10 more females with a few more undersized males. NOT A SINGLE FREAKIN LEAGAL DUNGIE!

All that is left is one lonely red rock crab. You say:
"If I am going to go through all this you can bet your ass I'm going to have crab for dinner one way or another!"
So you stash your one red rock 'crab of victory'.

You get the crab home and toss it in boiling water ... take it out and clean it. Then it hits you. With the shell off your 'crab of victory' looks more like 'crap of defeat' ... the legs are matchstick thin, it has almost no body and the claws, while they look good, require the jaws of life to break the inch thick shell.

As you contemplate what to do with this dead useless crab you remember watching Julia Child make lobster stock from the shell and useless bits of the lobster.

Then you get your moment of clarity: If this whole crab is useless maybe it would make a great stock.....

So there you have it. When it comes to red rock crab you have two options. Throw them back with the starfish or pound the crap out of them then boil them for way too long then make chowder with the crab water ..... then pretend that you are having an amazing crab dinner that you harvested yourself.

Enjoy

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I dunno.  Cracked and boiled, reds make a great stock.  Not sure I'd "waste" a dungy on that.  Try it as the base of a clam chowder some time ... mmm mm yum.

-Allen

That sounds really good.  Do you clean them or use the whole crab, and what's your crab to water ratio?

I only clean the guts/gills out, and scrub the shells.  And oh, remove the large claws and toss them in with the dungees I'm steaming!  That's about the only part I have the patience to clean.  Rough crack and break it up to release the flavors, and toss in boiling water, barely enough to cover. I cook about as long as I'd normally cook crab, and not much longer.  I have this fear of the bitter overcooked crab flavor taking over, so I don't push it.  And I don't want a lot of stock for chowder as it will end up watering down the cream/milk which is the normal liquid in the chowder, but it does add some nice undertones.  BTW, this ads extra flavor to a crab chowder as well, or any chowder really.  Or, use it as the liquid in steaming clams/mussels.  Damn, I'm getting hungry ... some crab stock, some clams, some mussels, garlic, fennel, white wine ... OH MY!

-Allen

One is targeted ... the other is eaten only when you don't catch dungies.

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I dunno.  Cracked and boiled, reds make a great stock.  Not sure I'd "waste" a dungy on that.  Try it as the base of a clam chowder some time ... mmm mm yum.

-Allen

OK .... let me spare you the discovery part of this whole process. Here is the exact scenario that proceeds the discovery of this great chowder base.

Scene:  Crabbing in piss poor weather, tired of fighting swell, current, wind and rain you finally set the three crab traps you drug out on top of your kayak. Two hours after setting them you want to get the hell off the water b/c it just plain sucks. An hour later you find your first pot just barely above water due to the ripping current. You pull it to find it packed with three of the biggest starfish you have ever seen. You cuss and throw them over board. You spend another hour paddling around trying to find your last two damn pots. The way point for you second pot is completely empty! Gear gone ... pissed off, cold and tired you move on to your third pot. Finally you spot the bouy a foot under water. After some tricky work with a net and gaff hook you finally have the rope in hand and are bringing up your last pot and it is HEAVY.

Then you see color! It is stuffed full of crab. So you get to work with your crab gauge: female, female, male but tiny, female, female, female, male but just a hair short .... then about 10 more females with a few more undersized males. NOT A SINGLE FREAKIN LEAGAL DUNGIE!

All that is left is one lonely red rock crab. You say:
"If I am going to go through all this you can bet your ass I'm going to have crab for dinner one way or another!"
So you stash your one red rock 'crab of victory'.

You get the crab home and toss it in boiling water ... take it out and clean it. Then it hits you. With the shell off your 'crab of victory' looks more like 'crap of defeat' ... the legs are matchstick thin, it has almost no body and the claws, while they look good, require the jaws of life to break the inch thick shell.

As you contemplate what to do with this dead useless crab you remember watching Julia Child make lobster stock from the shell and useless bits of the lobster.

Then you get your moment of clarity: If this whole crab is useless maybe it would make a great stock.....

So there you have it. When it comes to red rock crab you have two options. Throw them back with the starfish or pound the crap out of them then boil them for way too long then make chowder with the crab water ..... then pretend that you are having an amazing crab dinner that you harvested yourself.

Enjoy

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Allen I think you broke Bill.

One is targeted ... the other is eaten only when you don't catch dungies.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

I dunno.  Cracked and boiled, reds make a great stock.  Not sure I'd "waste" a dungy on that.  Try it as the base of a clam chowder some time ... mmm mm yum.

-Allen

OK .... let me spare you the discovery part of this whole process. Here is the exact inner monolog that proceeds the discovery of this great chowder base.

Scene:  Crabbing in piss poor weather, tired of fighting swell, current, wind and rain you finally set the three crab traps you drug out on top of your kayak. Two hours after setting them you want to get the hell off the water b/c it just plain sucks. An hour later you find your first pot just barely above water due to the ripping current. You pull it to find it packed with three of the biggest starfish you have ever seen. You cuss and throw them over board. You spend another hour paddling around trying to find your last two damn pots. The way point for you second pot is completely empty! Gear gone ... pissed off, cold and tired you move on to your third pot. Finally you spot the bouy a foot under water. After some tricky work with a net and gaff hook you finally have the rope in hand and are bringing up your last pot and it is HEAVY.

Then you see color! It is stuffed full of crab. So you get to work with your crab gauge: female, female, male but tiny, female, female, female, male but just a hair short .... then about 10 more females with a few more undersized males. NOT A SINGLE FREAKIN LEAGAL DUNGIE!

All that is left is one lonely red rock crab. You say:
"If I am going to go through all this you can bet your ass I'm going to have crab for dinner one way or another!"
So you stash your one red rock 'crab of victory'.

You get the crab home and toss it in boiling water ... take it out and clean it. Then it hits you. With the shell off your 'crab of victory' looks more like 'crap of defeat' ... the legs are matchstick thin, it has almost no body and the claws, while they look good, require the jaws of life to break the inch thick shell.

As you comtiplate

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Hah!  I can visualize that!  I have indeed experienced that of which you speak, enough times to know that that lonely rock crab is going back in the drink and I'd go home empty handed.  There's just not enough to work with on only one rock crab.

Curiously, there is a small cottage commercial rock crab fishery that has developed down here, mostly servicing some small restaurants that are willing to experiment.  Still, enough volume to make it worth the while for a small outfit to work it.

-Allen

There will always be someone willing to put in the work it they think they can make a buck. That doesn't always make it a good idea.

Today at work we thawed out 5000 pounds of block frozen smelt only to lay them on a rack one at a time and refreeze them so the guy can sell IQF smelt. I can guarantee that twice frozen smelt are going to suck and it is a bad idea .... but someone is going for it. 

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Texture is different between the two.  I find Dungeness tend to be sweeter.  Reds are ok but I'll take Dungeness every time.

+1, red rocks are good for soups & chowder. some folks through the whole crab in the soup.