Spider Crabs (Sheep Crab) - The First Taste

Spider Crab Caught Off of Point Loma

On one of our recent trips to the Tuna Harbor Dockside Market in downtown San Diego, Ingrid and I decided to buy some spider crabs.  The price seemed amazing, $2.50 per pound, especially considering they were being sold next to Spiny Lobster for $23.00 per pound.  While we were chatting to the fishermen (one of the benefits of the market), we learned that the spider crabs are caught while fishing for the lobsters - they are a byproduct of fishing for their much pricier neighbors.

A spider crab is a generic name given to a family of crabs called the Majidae.  Although the particular species of spider crabs that we bought was not divulged, after a bit of research, I believe it was likely the Sheep Crab.  The Sheep Crab is found off the coast of California from San Francisco to the Baha Peninsula.  As our fisherman noted, the Sheep Crab is usually considered a byproduct of lobster fishing.  According to the California Department of Fish and Game, this is likely due to the lack of available markets that will sell Sheep Crab and the hard shell, which makes processing the body meat uneconomical. 

Spider crabs are available year round in San Diego (if you can find them), and the crabs available at the market were caught off of Point Loma.  We ended up buying three spider crabs for our dinner that night - intending to process the crabs and figure out what to do with the meat later.  As soon as we got home from the market, we threw the crabs in the freezer for a humane numbing before their steam bath.  Our crabs averaged just over two pounds each, so after a seventeen minute steam - eight minutes per pound (average weight of each crab) - and a quick cool down, Ingrid got down to picking the meat. 

It took just over an hour for Ingrid to pick all three crabs - though I should mention that Ingrid is an expert crab picker (with significant experience in blue crabs) - and we came away with a few cups of crab meat from the lot - which was more meat than I expected - that tasted sweet and satisfying - on par with the more familiar and available snow crab and Alaskan king crab (and at a fraction of the cost).

Ultimately, our first spider crab experience proved worthwhile - great taste, low cost, moderate effort.

To read the California Department of Fish and Game's report on Sheep Crab, click here (click on the sheep crab link).

Tuna Harbor Dockside Market - Downtown San Diego

Tuna Harbor Dockside Market

The Tuna Harbor Dockside Market is a relatively new fish market in downtown San Diego, debuting on August 2, 2014.  Located on the Fish Harbor Pier, at 598 Harbor Lane, San Diego CA 92101 (south end of Pacific Highway where it enters the Seaport Village parking lot), the dockside market offers fresh, locally caught fish for purchase directly from the fishermen (many whose boats are just behind their stands).  The market is open every Saturday from 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM.  However, many of the vendors have sold out well before 1:00 PM, so get there early!

Ingrid and I have been meaning to get down to the market for many months now but only got around to visiting the market for the first time last week.  The market was small - about six booths or so - but a promising start for a fresh, local, and relatively inexpensive fish market.  We perused the various stands, looking at California Halibut, California Sheephead, Box Crab, Spider Crabs, Spiny Lobsters, Welks, Sea Urchin, and various other local fish.

Box Crabs

California Sheephead

Kellet's Whelks

Tuna

The catch at the market is always local, seasonal, fresh, and ethically produced.  The one catch with the market is that you'll have to bone up on your cleaning and filleting skills.  Nonetheless, this is a great place to find the freshest, most local seafood in San Diego.  Stay tuned for tips on cleaning, filleting, and cooking the seafood found at this market.    

Click here to be taken to the Tuna Harbor Dockside Market website.

Spider Crab

The Backyard Gourmand - A River Cottage Inspiration

In 2005, I traveled to England to visit a friend.  We spent our time hiking, visiting castles, mountain biking, traipsing around London, and exploring some classic English culture.  During our downtime, Rob and I occasioned in front of the tele (as they call it), during which I got my first exposure to a show called River Cottage.

River Cottage documents the works of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, a chef turned smallholder (owner of a small farm), with a mission of advocating for seasonal, local, organic, and ethically produced food.  Local foods, including foraged foods, are a prominent feature of the show.  The River Cottage philosophy spoke to me, still speaks to me.  For one reason or another - including health issues, lack of knowledge, perceived cost - turning the philosophy of seasonal, local, organic, and ethically produced food into practice evolved (and is still evolving) slowly.  But we (Ingrid and I) are finding low-cost ways of including mostly seasonal, local, organic, and ethically produced food in our diet.

The idea for the Backyard Gourmand blog is to pay homage to those efforts - to help others interested in moving toward seasonal, local, organic, and ethically produced foods