Dungeness Crab

This large crab usually weighs in from 1½ to 4 pounds (680 g to 1.8 kg) and is brown to purple in color before cooking. Named for the small town of Dungeness on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state, which first began commercially harvesting the delicacy, Dungeness crabs are found on the Pacific coast from Southern California up to Alaska. They yield succulent sweet meat from both the body and the legs and claws. When cooked simply in boiling seawater the shell turns a bright red. It is a favorite of Hog Island. A keeper must be at least 6¼ inches (16 cm) long, and only males are harvested. Their main season is November to the end of April.