How to select, cook, enjoy that Dungeness delight

Dungeness crab is a delicacy, its tender white meat tasting faintly sweet and of the sea. There's nothing quite like it. But, as with all delicacies, you should expect to pay a king's ransom for it.

Shelled crabmeat is $23 to $25 a pound, while both live and whole cooked crab is $5.99 to $7.99 a pound in Seattle-area stores.

The winter months are the prime crab-eating season, and "the best Dungeness crab is just coming into the market now," says Dale Erickson, owner of University Seafood & Poultry Co. in the University District. But don't expect to see prices fall too much. "It's a matter of supply and demand," says Erickson.

Crabmeat is divided from different parts of the crab into three categories. The white meat that is pulled from the body's shell in large pieces is sold as lump. Its superior quality is reflected in its steep price, but for salads or dipping in melted butter, it's worth it.

When the body shell is cleaned and scraped, the meat comes away in smaller pieces known as flake. The quality is also good, but the smaller pieces are best in crab cakes, sandwich fillings and salads. The third category is taken from the claws. Its dark, stringy meat can be tough, but when mixed with other crabmeat, it's fine for casseroles and sandwiches.

Killing and cooking a live crab is messy business, and when priced the same as those already cooked, it's a business you may not want to buy into.

But if purchasing a live crab, look for one that's lively in the tank. Crab will spoil quickly once it dies and should be cooked immediately.

There are a couple of ways to cook a live crab. One is the "Annie Hall" method of putting the live crustacean in boiling water. In "West Coast Seafood," author Jay Harlow suggests putting the crab into a large covered pot of cool, salted water and heating the two together. When the water is almost at a boil, remove from the heat and set aside 10 minutes for a 1 ½-pound crab, or 15 minutes for one that's about 2 ½ pounds.

Once cooked, the crab should be cleaned by removing the back and breaking it in two. Shake out the viscera and remove the gill filaments. Then crack the legs by standing on a narrow edge and sharply tapping each section with a mallet or sharpening steel.

"Alive or cooked," writes Harlow, "choose a crab that seems heavy for its size and the shell will be more filled with meat. Legs that are tightly drawn in on a cooked crab are a sign that the crab was alive when cooked. Splayed legs are not a good sign."

Although one of the best ways to serve Dungeness crab is simply cracked with melted butter, its flavor melds equally well with mild creamy sauces or spicy seafood soups.

CeCe Sullivan: csullivan@seattletimes.com