Foraging for Dungeness on the Oregon Coast

An Amazing Discovery
Over 20 years ago my family discovered the amazing Oregon Coast and a little place called Netarts Bay; it lies on the coast just south of Tillamook.  If you're not from around here, you may have heard of Tillamook cheese - some of the best cheddar around, but that's another blog for another time.

The charming little town of Netarts as seen from the bay

Family camping trip to Cape Lookout State Park in 1993

Cape Lookout lies at the south end of Netarts Bay, one of the many scenic capes along the Oregon Coast; it has one of the nicest beaches in the area, but for me, one of the best features of Cape Lookout is the State Park campground nestled between the Pacific Ocean and the coastal range.  There is nothing like camping while listening to the soothing sound of the surf and breathing the fresh ocean air.

Roughing It (or not)
We grew up hunting and fishing, and considering where the family deer camp was located (the only way to get there was horseback or hiking - although I do remember a dirt bike or two bravely going up those vertical switchbacks) I do know what roughing it is.  As with other things that change as I get older, the urge to sleep on the rock-hard ground and bathe in an ice-cold creek has definitely waned to nil; which is why I now love campgrounds I can drive to, with hot showers and bathrooms in close proximity.  Cape Lookout boasts some of the best maintained, nicest facilities to be found in the campground world, and if you reserve online far enough in advance, you can see the layout and choose sites that are strategically located.

Call me a wuss or what you will, but the main consideration I find myself pondering these days, is if my cooking equipment, including my cast iron dutch ovens, is easily transportable to the locale.  Some of my most treasured recipes were invented at the coast over a camp fire; everything just tastes better eaten and prepared al fresco.

Typical fixings for a Pacific Northwest Crab Boil - the dark crabs on the left are Red Rocks; on the right: Dungeness

Miss Information
I don't remember when it was that we were told by a woman at Netarts that the Red Rock crabs were an invasive species that they were trying to eradicate from the bay.  As it turns out, Red Rocks are actually known as Oregon's crab and native to this area.  Fossil specimens have been recovered in Native American kitchens.  It is said that they can be aggressive toward Dungeness; I don't know if this is true or not.  They tend to be smaller and the shell is much harder than Dungeness, but they are delicious none-the-less.

Harvesting Sustainably
Only Dungeness male crabs that measure 5 3/4" across the widest part of the shell should be taken; the fine is $400 and they do check incoming boats at the docks on a regular basis.  That size is limited to 12 per person, per day.  The Red Rocks limit is set at 24 per day, any size, any sex.

Male crabs can be identified by the tucked-under-tail-like apron on the underside; it will be narrow on the males, while females will have a much wider round-shaped apron; this is where they carry their eggs.

The aprons shown on male Dungeness (front) and Red Rock (back) crabs; females have a much wider apron that is rounded on the sides

Traps vs. Rings
Traps are great if you have your own boat and you can leave them down for at least 4 hours (overnight is best since the large males are most active at night).  When we first started crabbing, we would rent our boat from a couple of different places in town.  Last I checked it will set you back about $50 for 4 hours which includes bait, shellfish gauge and rings - not a bad deal to get the experience and we've never been 'skunked' at Netarts.  Live crab at one of the local markets was up to $8.50/lb last time I was there and a typical crab is about 2 1/2 - 3 lbs.  So you do the math; of course it is a gamble as to how many crab you will catch, but you are paying for the experience as much as anything, in my opinion.  Nowadays we live about an hour's drive from a number of potential crabbing bays and we have our vintage (1962) aluminum Valco - lovingly named Velma, which suits our purposes just fine.

Using rings, you leave them down for a specified amount of time and then pull them up as fast as you can.  Once the ring starts to move, the crabs start to bail off.  We like to time them for about 10 minutes; one advantage to crabbing this way, is knowing right off if you are on crab or not - if not, you move.  Sometimes rings tossed off one side of the boat will be chock full and rings off the other side will produce nothing.

Most of these were fat females and juveniles - I think we got 1 'keeper' in this lot

Cooking and Cleaning
We cook our crabs in a propane turkey fryer - absolutely perfect for dragging to the beach.  I like to add a few extra aromatics to the water I cook my crabs in.  Similar to court bouillon which is used to poach fish in classical cuisine, but my own concoction which includes fresh herbs from my garden, sliced onion, smashed garlic cloves, whole peppercorns, bay leaf and, if I have it, I love to add Zaterain's liquid crab boil.  The liquid is not readily available here in the west, but I have wonderful friends from Louisiana who know how much I love it and regularly bring it back to me.  Simmer all the ingredients for 20 or 30 minutes before adding the crabs.

Since the crabs are different sizes, they take different times to cook and there's nothing worse than ruining such a culinary treasure by overcooking it.  A little vigilance and a pair of long tongs are your friends at this time.  Once a crab floats, it is done!  Pull it out and immediately put it in a big bucket of cold water to stop the cooking.  Keep the crab cooking liquid to cook corn on the cob and potatoes in while you are cleaning the crab.

Pull the apron back to expose an access point to separate the top shell from the bottom

The top comes away from the bottom exposing the lungs and other bits such as liver

A cleaned crab ready to dive in and enjoy!!!

Our chickens love this part of the process, if we are cooking them at home, because none of the insides go to waste!

Last, but not least, the crab can be reheated quickly in the cooking liquid for a couple of minutes before serving with the potatoes and corn.  Don't forget the Tillamook butter!