Dungeness Crab cakes

What a December! We just wrapped up four Crabsgivings this month, where we invite friends over to feast on fresh live Dungeness crab. This is always fun because I kill the crabs on the spot to the awe and/or horror of friends who witness the delicious tragedy. Headcount this year? 50 crabs. I should start scratching a tally for each crab on the side of the steamer.

Starting this year, we decided to serve other crab dishes in addition to the freshly steamed crab. The crab cakes really stood out with everyone, so I took the time to figure out how I did them rather than my usual “a dash here, a pinch there” method.

Recipe

Makes 18 small crab cakes

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. fresh Dungeness crab meat, cooked
• 1/4 cup crab butter (the yellow juice from the head)
• 1/4 cup crackers, crushed
• 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs (for mixture)
• Extra panko breadcrumbs for breading
• Flour for breading, about 1/2 cup
• 1/4 cup Safflower mayonnaise (regular is ok too)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon Sriracha hot sauce
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 stalks of green onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

For aioli:

• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup Safflower mayonnaise (regular is ok too)
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• salt and pepper to taste (about 1/2 teaspoon of each for me)

Crab cake mix

Start by preheating the deep fryer to 350 degrees F (you can also pan fry on medium-high heat). Sauté the green onions in the olive oil until soft, about 3 minutes. Combine soy sauce, eggs, fish sauce, sesame oil, Sriracha, garlic and mayonnaise in a mixing bowl and stir until it’s consistent. Then add the crab, crackers, panko breadcrumbs and green onion and continue mixing until the crab meat has flaked, and the mixture has a pasty consistency.

In a separate shallow dish, combine equal parts panko and flour. Roll the crab cakes into balls about the size of an ice cream scoop, then dip in the breading mixture until coated. Set aside and flatten them slightly.

Drop the finished crab cakes into the fryer and cook until just golden brown on the outside, about 1.5 to 2 minutes.

For the aioli, simply combine all of the ingredients into a mixing bowl, and use an egg beater until it’s mixed evenly. Serve with the hot crab cakes.

Ready for dissection

I haven’t been posting much lately, because frankly work has been too busy to string together quality fishing time. That said, my favorite busy-time fishery opened November 5th: Dungeness Crab.

Why do I love crab fishing? It certainly isn’t challenging, but I can catch them fairly quick and they are absolutely delicious. I may have been fawning over lobster lately, but crab is still the King of Crustaceans in my book.

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Lobsters await their fate

I must say: these past few years I have been heavily biased against lobster. It’s not that I think it’s terrible, but I had difficulty accepting that lobster, which is more expensive, was in any way superior to our local Dungeness crab. Was I unnecessarily taking sides on a non-controversial topic? Probably. However, after a string of good meals I have a newfound respect for your classic Maine lobster (but not enough to let them live!).

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The Sierras. tall peaks and trout

When you think of “fishing”, the image most people get is one of a picturesque lake, up in the mountains and surrounded by a forest. While this is only one type of fishing, to most people I’ve met this is what fishing means. The Sierras are literally loaded with waterways that are teeming with fish, and people come from all over the West to live this idyllic fishing experience.

From Mt. Lassen to King’s Canyon, there are dozens of towns whose economies depend solely on the anglers who come to fish in the many streams and lakes of these mountains. In towns like Mono City and Bridgeport, there are more sporting goods stores than groceries, and signs on every other shop saying, “Welcome, Anglers!”

For me, my experience would take place in a stream not far from Bridgeport. There were unique challenges to fishing a narrow, high flow stream with crystal clear waters. First of all, if you can see the fish (and you could), they see you and won’t bite. Luckily my uncle has been fishing the area for more than 20 years and knew their every trick. Most of our trout-hunting involved letting our bait drift downstream and out of sight and dangling it in holes that held fish. I got a couple of bites right away and hauled in a couple of 8 to 9 inch trout.

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smallmouth bass awaits his fate

If you’ve ever caught a fish,  you can look at their eyes, and more often than not, they’re turned at you while they await their fate. I’ll never forget the first time I looked back at one of those fish and decided to whack it. I certainly didn’t hesitate too long nor did I have a problem with it;  I knew I would eat the fish. However, as I thought about it in the succeeding moment, I empathized with the fish. After all, it was just trying to survive, as I am.

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Sunrise in Southern CA

It had long been a promise to my little brother Eric that we get some quality fishing time, and being in Santa Barbara he has no shortage of opportunities. With good early-season Rockfish reports from the area, I planned an ambitious weekend without a whole lot of sleep time allotted. Since they had a big online presence with a couple of decent reviews around, I made a reservation with Channel Islands Sportfishing in Oxnard, CA, and headed South with a full tank of gas and plenty of adrenaline..

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Bad case of branchial cleft cyst

Or rather I am branchial cleft cyst-man, a re-gift to me by evolution. Appropriately enough, it’s a cyst leftover from the missing link; something you normally lose as an embryo, but in fish it turns into gills! That might explain my my piscivorous ways, amazing breath-holding skills as a kid, and my tendency to swim along the bottom of the pool like a catfish.

Anyway, after the cyst has been a benign lump behind my jaw for some fourteen-odd years, it finally got infected. Since I had no idea what it was before, I had to give in and visit a doctor. 45 minutes, a painful liquid extraction, and an $1800 bill later, the test revealed that I was Gill-man.

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Cilantro

Cilantro is, without a doubt, my favorite herb. I know this will cause controversy with the “soap-tasters” and those who are firmly entrenched in basil camp, but there is no more interesting way to jazz up a dish than with cilantro. It’s somewhat peppery and spicy, but also has what I call an “active” flavor, which will come out with almost any savory dish. If you love fish there’s even better news: it’ll help remove mercury and other heavy metal deposits from throughout your body.

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Dragging out of the icy river

I’ll never forget that. It doesn’t matter who you are or what kind of resources you have, you still have to play by the rules of the fish.

It all started on a long February trip up the Northern coast of California where we would land in Brookings, Oregon. The entire week before I had visions of Steelhead dancing in my head — I was ready to catch my first. We were to meet with Mark’s friend and accomplished guide, Dustin, and for two days ply the wild rivers of Southern Oregon.

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Tilapia

Tilapia. Mention that word and I think of the fish thriving in sewage-infested waters of Ala Wai canal. They were brazen enough to even beg for food because no local would dare eat one of them. They are truly the insipid outcast of the fish world. But tilapia from safe aquaculture doesn’t eat too much crap, and is the rising star of the “sustainable” fish movement. Walk into any trendy San Francisco fish joint, and there’s a good chance your “fish” taco is one of these guys. Hell, they even eat a mostly vegetarian diet which limits fish feed impacts. Why do I hate it so much?

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