Week of December 25: Crab boil for Crabby Weather

On Friday (12/30), Andrea and I hosted our first crab boil of the season. After the failed first attempt (see November 6 blog), I was determined to make this happen. We had invited my parents, my brother (BK), my sister (Stephanie) and brother-in-law (Doug), and the parents Doug (Doug, Sr. and Roberta) weeks ahead and had patiently waited for this day to come. When Friday finally rolled around, Andrea and I were very concerned. It had rained continuously for a week and the report from the harbor master at Pillar Point was that, as of Thursday morning, no boats were selling crab due to the weather but a few boats were making their way out on Thursday when there was a break in the weather. There was no additional information when I called the Pillar Point's Fishfone early Friday morning. To top it off, the weather was moving in and it began to sprinkle. The odds were against us. What were we to do? Take a gamble and drive an hour (each way) to Half Moon Bay's Pillar Point Harbor and hope that there were live crab? Postpone the crab boil? Pizza Party? With no clear favorable alternative, I did what a real man would do... I took a gamble, braved the storm and headed down to Half Moon Bay. With my Patagonia extreme rain gear on, Kodi, my fearless dog by my side and driving my lean-mean-baby-blue-station-wagon-driving-machine, I thought I had a fighting chance of returning home safely with some crab.

As Kodi and I approached Pillar Point, we could feel the stormy Pacific crashing against the harbor. There were no boats outside the harbor and the parking lot was virtually empty. The fish guide whiteboard outside the harbor master, which usually was packed with names and locations of boats selling crab was blank! My heart sank. But I didn't give up. I had gotten up at 7 AM and had driven for an hour and I wasn't about to let a little week long storm deprive me of a crab boil... I had to keep hope alive. I began to scan up and down all of the docks for any sign of activity. Docks A, B, C... all quiet. D, E, F... nothing as well. Then as my eagle like eyes glanced over Dock G, I noticed a man, nay a brave buccaneer, shoring his boat and unloading his catch. I could see the heat plume still rising from the boat's chimney. I quickly grabbed my cooler, zipped up my rain gear and headed out into the rain towards Dock G. As I dashed out of my baby blue station wagon, I could hear Kodi's howl cheering me on. At that very moment, the rain stopped and the sun peaked through the clouds. At Dock G, I had found what I was looking for... I found crab. The boat had just got in... barely beating the storm surge in. From what the Capt'n was telling me and from my observation around the harbor, he was the only "crazy son of a b**ch" to make the crab run. The Capt'n told me that he didn't expect to find anyone at the docks to buy his catch that I was as crazy of a "son of a b**ch" as he was. I took that as the ultimate compliment and I was rewarded with the first pick of his catch. The Capt'n stated that because no one had made a crab run in over a week, his crabs were very fresh and very large. Indeed, they were. I bought 9 crabs, weight totaling over 20 pounds. They were all very lively. I threw them into my cooler, packed ice over them, and started my journey home.

At home, I was greeted a hero welcome by Andrea and again later that day by my hungry and appreciative family as they feasted on the crabs.

All happy faces enjoying our crab. For the first time that I can ever recall, Doug Jr. was very quiet during his meal... not even self-humoring jokes from his mouth!


After the meal, we had some fun playing with Karaoke Revolution on our Xbox. In the father vs. son head-to-head competition, Doug Sr. schooled Jr. Even American Idol's William Hung would have laughed at Jr's performance.

Ray's Crab Boil Recipe
Hardware:

• Outdoor Burner. I used the Kick "A" Banjo Outdoor Propane Stove. If you're cooking for a smaller number, you can do it inside on your stove... but it will smell like crab for a week!
• Big Pot. I believe mine was at least 30 quart size.

Seasoning:

• Sea salt. Enough to have the water taste as salty as the ocean.
• Vinegar. About 1/3 of the bottle. It helps the meat of the crab separate from the shell.
• Season mix. You can use Old Bay or Zatarain's powder mix. I used about 1/3 of Whole Foods' Spicy Shrimp Boil mix.
• 3 lemons cut into halves.
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 whole garlic head (no need to peel)

Other ingredients:

• Dungeness Crabs
• Potatoes
• Corn

What to do:

Fill pot with 2/3 full of water. Salt water, put in all spices and potatoes. Bring to a boil. Insert all the crab (or as many as it will fit with a couple of inches of water level to spare). Throw in the corn. Bring water back to boil and cook for 20 minutes. Remove crabs to let them cool. Remove the corn and potatoes and keep them warm (cover in foil and keep in oven). Clean the crab. Serve with corn, potatoes, crusty fresh bread and melted butter on the side (optional). Eat!