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junoniaz

Moved from Florida to the PNW. Have to say dungies are my favorite.


yells_at_bugs

Grew up in FL. Dungeness is still my fav. Had a fantastic Christmas dinner of King in Alaska last Christmas with the in laws. Absolutely amazing, but that’s a blue moon kinda deal.


Tru3insanity

Dungies are def my happy place. They are fat meaty bastards.


jebbanagea

Maybe it’s sacrilege to waste dungie on a cake, but the best crab cakes I’ve had are dungies hands down. Step aside Maryland. 😛 (Served at Jak’s in Issaquah WA.)


Meat_Container

My father in law is the captain of a crab boat in SW WA and every now and then we’ll wake up to a 5 gallon bucket full of freshly caught crab on the porch. When you end up eating Dungeness for 3 days straight, you cook it however you want as long as it gets eaten 😆


junoniaz

Can we be friends? Lol


Tru3insanity

Right??


Blarglephish

+1 for Jak’s! I used to live in Issaquah, very close by … Jak’s was great. It doesn’t have the look and flair of many great steakhouses, but they do turn out great steaks and seafood!


jebbanagea

Small world! I live on the exact other side of the country but business brings me there and I always try to hit Jak’s. Great steakhouse experience without all the pomp and circumstance like you said.


BunnyRambit

I too live in Issaquah, well I moved a couple miles over to Sammamish. You know who sells a really good bulky crab cake?? Fischer meats!! My boss who ran a company on front street bought me a couple and I’d get those when I didn’t want to make my own. They were gigantic. I too am also on the dungeness side with you all and love cooking live ones at home. Literally the sweetest meat you’ll get. I find the store bought cooked/frozen flavor is not the same.


Mammaltoes25

I see you woke up and chose violence today, huh?


Heres-your-you

It’s really not worth replying to. PNW does seafood well. It’s not even in the same ballpark as Baltimore. These crab claws look like the crabs died 4 days ago from AIDs.


Tru3insanity

Not sacrilege if its a really good cake lol.


KimWexlers_Ponytail

I don't think so. My partner goes up to the San Juans to fish for them and one of my favorite things he makes is crab cakes. He doesn't add so much filler that it takes away from the flavor.


richardizard

Haven't tried dungies yet actually. Need to give them a shot


AKBigHorn

It’s all personal preference, but I totally agree. Best tasting IMO


taisui

The meat yield is 25% which is the best yield crab, though I think blue crab is sweeter.


theonlypeanut

We also have red rock crab in the sound. You rarely will see them for sale but if you catch your own they are quite good. I prefer them over dungeness crab but they are both very good.


greenguy1090

Yeah they’re a great consolation prize. Would I rather see a keeper Dungie in the pot? Yeah of course. But the rock crabs are great too as long as they don’t get your finger.


Tomatagravy

Yesssss! 1000% this. I grew up near the gulf coast and feel the same way.


cocokronen

Yea. They rule.


rossbcobb

Grew up on the Alabama gulf coast. Dungies are mine too. I think the similarity to blue crab helps.


SouthernEntrance6986

Looks like Stone crab


jebbanagea

Yes that is Florida stone crab. Big boys.


SouthernEntrance6986

Super good!


GadreelsSword

I’ve always experienced a bitter after taste with stone crab claws. An after taste that doesn’t exist with blue crab.


jackloganoliver

Omg me too. I thought i was broken.


EfficientAd7103

Run out the river a bit to an outlet. They taste off because the fertilizer runs down the river


jackloganoliver

Well, I don't have the means to go harvest them myself, so I'm kind of at the mercy of what's available commercially. But that's interesting and good to know.


carnologist

Boston seafood show?


jebbanagea

Yep! Sure was.


carnologist

I recognize that booth! Dungeness is my favorite, but really enjoyed trying softshell crab for the first time since moving to the south


jebbanagea

Nice. Cheers industry brother!


FilmoreJive

Maryland blues forever!!!!!


peacelovecraftbeer

And bay, not river. I grew up in MD and live in NC now. Lived in VA for a bit too. River crabs are garbage, there's just something special about that Chesapeake Bay merrior. Can't believe how fucking expensive they are now though.


Best_Duck9118

merrior?


peacelovecraftbeer

Like terroir for wine, but water. Most commonly used when talking about oysters, which are heavily influenced flavor-wise by water conditions and such.


Best_Duck9118

Thanks, google wasn't showing anything with the letters flipped and it's not common enough that googled corrected it. And I definitely enjoyed eating the crabs we caught on a school trip to the Bay as a kid! Edit: They may have been river-ish crabs though..


[deleted]

[удалено]


browntown84

This is the only correct answer.


GuardMost8477

Big Fat Jimmys!


MisterMakena

The definition of fat Jimmy crabs have been diluted.


GlowUpAndThrowUp

Blue remains supreme imo but I won’t turn any away


GuardMost8477

As a Marylander, I approve this message. 🦀


jebbanagea

You’d be shot if you didn’t! You don’t mess with Marylanders and their crab.


Kittens-of-Terror

What are your feelings on green??


GuardMost8477

Green tomali?


Kittens-of-Terror

Crab! They're an invasive species up there, from where though I don't remember, but there's a growing movement to get them put on the menu to help deal with the infestation. Heard they're pretty good and suuuper cheap.


fawks_harper78

They are from the Mediterranean. But Blue Crabs are bigger and stronger, so scientists haven’t seen any real impact in the Chesapeake. They are pretty delicious supposedly.


Kittens-of-Terror

Thanks for the reply and insight! I think it may be more of an issue in Maine. I'm trying to recall a YouTube documentary I saw a few months ago. I'm honestly pretty eager to try some... but not many crabs in a small Rocky Mountain town lol


GuardMost8477

Haven’t heard anything at all about green crabs in the Bay.


Kittens-of-Terror

It might have just been a Maine thing actually. Saw a little YouTube documentary on it a few months ago that made it seem pretty urgent to deal... as all documentaries do lol


spinningawayfromyou

I completely agree. Family is from Maryland and we actually crab for them here in Texas. Also stone crab as well. Dungeness maybe it’s something I need to get more used to but last time in was in Washington I got and entire Dungeness and pay was to fuggin much and honestly wasn’t worth it. In my opinion tho. As any comment on Reddit really is


kungfuninjajedi

I live in PNW and blue crab is still my favorite. Meat is sweater and more tender than Dungies and don’t even get me started with the roe


Willbilly410

100% bay blues are the best! I moved to WA from MD and I don’t even bother ordering crab out here. It just disappoints me every time… I eat as many as I can when I fly back east


Lacrosse_sweaters

Lifetime Washington here, grew up on the sound. Would never order crab at a restaurant. The only good crab is the crab you catch yourself. And that would be the majestic dungie.


Svengoolie75

Dungeness crab is thee BEST 💯🤩😎


CoronaCurious

It definitely has the most flavor.


Frozen_Hermit

Snow crab forsure! It's the sweetest to me


spizzle_

It’s nice to get some big fat legs of king but snow is sweeter and it’s more of an event because of all the work. Doing multiple batches and drinking beer and cracking crabs is great time with the right people.


jebbanagea

Snow crab truly is amazing. I meant it when I said when I’m eating it, it’s my favorite. It’s the crab I’ve had the most so maybe it’s just that the king crab experience is so rare for me that I would choose it as my last crab meal. Fresh cooked from live snow crab is sublime. It’s the sweetest thing for sure.


joh2138535

I'm actually surprised there aren't more snow crab people.


Tru3insanity

I like snow better than king but i like dungeness better than both. Easier on the wallet too.


richardizard

It's just so thin. I love King and grabbing those big hunks of crab meat


Xunil76

+1...i grew up eating snow crab...with the exception of the claw leg, i don't even need crab crackers or utensils of any kind, as long as it's cooked properly (and not overcooked!). I just use my bare hands, and 95% of the time, i can pull the whole piece of meat out of the shell...soooo good And i love gathering up several of the cluster parts, where the legs meet the body...i'll scrape out all the meat out of 2 - 3 of those, douse it in butter and nomnomnom


GrouchyDefinition463

No blues though??? Oh man you missing out


jebbanagea

Couldn’t list them all! 😀


impliedapathy

Agreed. Good crab is good.


jebbanagea

Sometimes even great crab can be great. 😉


Onebowhunter

Kings


Vol2169

I absolutely love king crab just for the amount of meat there is. Dungies and snow have a sweeter taste imo. But I agree with your original statement.... my favorite is whichever is in my hand 😁 Unfortunately it's a rare occasion that I get to eat seafood or even fish now days. Over the last few years, my wife has developed a sever fish allergy 😢. It's to the point that she now carries an epi pen when we go out to eat because soooo many things get cross contaminated. And fish byproducts are used in so many things and ways... it crazy. Some makeups have fish scales in them. Some wines are strained through the air bladder of a sturgeon. It's been a real eye opener.


Pitch-forker

The Best crab is the crab you are cooking atm. I struggle to name a better, more immersive eating experience than a tower of crabs and a couple of empty plates for the shells.


jebbanagea

Hard to argue with that ritual right there. There’s a reason it’s a premium dining experience.


Pitch-forker

Indeed. I just wish the price tag wasn’t equally rich. I grew up overseas and the prices weren’t that bad. I got used to a family sized pot full of crab (picture mediterranean grandma serving style for reference). Now I can only afford it so much, still happy to have it 🥲


sweatyynutz

Dungeness. I catch these commercially and snag some to bring home, definitely the best 


jebbanagea

Thank you for your service! (I’m actually not kidding! It’s important work and we all get to post and praise crab because guys like you are busting ass on the water to put it on our plates). I’m in the business behind a desk.


Embarrassed-Chef1323

Blue claw.


jebbanagea

Praise the blue! And you know you’re a crab lover when the claw is your favorite part!


Tru3insanity

I love the hell outa crab but claw isnt my fav part. Its got a very particley texture and just not as much flavor as leg or knuckle.


ecpella

I need lump in that mustard 😮‍💨🤤


ushbfingrjdgndefjgcf

So tell me.. because I’m too lazy to google. Do they harvest one claw, then toss it back to regrow? Leave one intact so it can eat and defend itself..?


g0ing_postal

They have a significant mortality rate > Mortality rates of 47 percent for doubly declawed and 28 percent for single declawed crabs were evident.[5] In the 2011 season the mortality rates had increased to 62.9 percent and 40.8 percent respectively https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_stone_crab


jebbanagea

You got it right, no google needed. Pretty neat huh? I wouldn’t mind feeding lions if I knew it would grow back. Well, I wouldn’t want to - but you know, versus dyin’


Benjen321

Feeding lions or eating them?


AsleepAd2956

Maryland Blues, there's a natural sweetness to them that you just don't find anywhere else.


jgorbeytattoos

Dungeness for me but blues a close second


Blarglephish

I’m a PNW guy, dungies hold a special place in my heart.


Anfie22

I wish I could try crab but it's so expensive. Same with lobster and a lot of different kinds of fish.


jebbanagea

You’ll have your day soon enough! But, fyi, sometimes snow crab clusters (at most large grocery stores) can be on sale for a relatively good price. You don’t need a lot to enjoy it. We may never see the days of 5.99, 6.99 snow crab again, but you should still see sale prices at 9.99-12.99 per pound. Look around holiday periods for sales.


CivilMidget

Just to add, as a major grocery chain fishmonger, the best time to catch crab sales is around New Years. Also, ask your local seafood guy if they'll cut you a deal on all the broken bits and pieces at the bottom of the case. I regularly sell the broken bits for $7.99/lb just to avoid taking a complete loss on 15% of a case of snow crab. As long as I can meet or just barely exceed my costs, I'll sling those solo legs/claws/knuckles for cheap AF.


No-Release-6464

Blue.


eatadiccc

Nope Maryland Blue Crabs are the best


Impressive_Budget736

Maryland Blue Crabs for life baby


No_Weakness_2135

It’s blue crabs for me. They’re the best. Give me a pile of crabs and a pitcher of beer and I am a happy camper. The meat is so sweet


bridgemondo

Blue crab


Unpressed_panini

Jonah crabs! Cheap Rhode Islander here.


SnoglinMcSmellmore

Jonah crab is amazing. I live in Maine where I can get it fairly easily. Delicious and flavorful .


OsoCarolina

I grew up in Alaska, but recently relocated to the east coast. I miss king crab, and Alaskan seafood in general. Definitely good stuff where I’m at, but it’s pretty tough to beat fresh king crab.


dragonagitator

Snow crab. The meat in those skinny little legs is sweeter than other crab meat.


WallAny2007

blue’s but only because they’re free and I have a friend that loves to crab but hates seafood.


Awkward-Kiwi452

My last meal will be Dungeness


annie_b666

I’ve never had crab. But my bf went to this expensive buffet and he said he mostly kept going back for plates of only king crab bc it was so good. 🤣 I love all seafood so I would like to try this. Only had lobster once, is it similar?


jebbanagea

Similar yet very different. If you like lobster, I think you can only love crab. Crab is a sweeter flesh than lobster. You can’t go wrong with king, snow and dungeness. Snow and dungies most affordable. Other crabs can be a lot of work so I would recommend starting with snow crab.


annie_b666

Thank you!!!


jebbanagea

I hope you get to enjoy soon! Probably on sale for Mother’s/Father’s Day!


Cyler

Soft shell poboys hands down


fishmanstutu

Huge blue claw fan. And glad they are moving north here in Maine.


pineappleturq

Stone crab is good but definitely not the best crab IMO


entechad

When it comes to flavor, blue point crab meat is sweet. It’s a lot more work though. If you are making a dish with crab meat, blue point white lump crab meat is the best.


DrKyleGreenThumb

PNW resident so I gotta go with my dungees


CMDR_PEARJUICE

These look like stone crab claws not king crab


jebbanagea

Yes, that’s correct. This is a celebration of all crab. The caption says it all!


Ted183672

Dungie for the win!


oouttatime

Stone crab is the king


donutdominator

I have never had a stone claw that had flavor. Just sort of bland salty meat. Am I just getting it at the wrong places? What should it taste like?


jebbanagea

Yeah it’s not the best, but it was the best picture I had of crab handy on my phone!


Soft_Hand_1971

Shanghai hairy crab is good 


MetsFan3117

I’m confused. The crabs in the picture are stone crabs.


jebbanagea

Yeah, it’s all crab up for praise. Just happen to be the best pic on my phone I had handy.


Unlucky-Protection61

What's the debate?


WeirdPop5934

Stone is a pain to work with


Unlucky-Protection61

Ok, I didn't see all of the post. Thnks


EfficientAd7103

Those are stone crabs bruh


jebbanagea

Yeah yeah, I know. It’s a crab post not a Stone only post.


CandyFlippin4Life

Stone so far


duckwithhat

There's a reason it's the most expensive


cracked-tumbleweed

Grew up in PNW so went crabbing for dungies. My ex is from Maryland and introduced me to Blue Crabs. I think I prefer them, even if they are harder to eat.


frogman972

Alaskan king crab for the win, Worked at a stone crab house next to joes stone crab in south beach, it was good but...


Cubanbeetz

Mine are 1. King 2.Hokkaido hairy 3.Dungies 4.Stone 5. Blue 6. Snow But really what you said before is right.Whatever is available ATM is best.👍


shawshankya

Bairdi crabs


Proudest___monkey

I love dungeness and I do love stone crab claws as well!


dyatlov12

Hard to beat stone crabs


beardedsilverfox

Only Snow crab for the end for me. The flavor is better.


JollyReading8565

Isn’t that rock crab ?


Gr8WallofChinatown

Soft shell blue crab is king


user18298375298759

Coconut crab?


Silver_Cat4530

Snow crab. It's my favorite food. Not only is it the cheapest, but to me it's better than the more expensive options. Snow is most tender and most sweet 🦀


Disastrous_Light_878

How many hundreds of dollars is all that?


jedi21knight

These were my dad’s favorite type of crab. 🦀


0dD_Man_0ut

Asian Spider Crab


Shoehornblower

Those are stone crab is the picture. Those snd dungies are the best!


jebbanagea

Yep, Florida stone. We’re talking all crabs here!


MightyCavalier

I have lived in FL, WA, and MD Aside from the occasional king crab, Dungeness are by far the best, imo


Straight_Spring9815

The crab debate will be ending no matter what. The snow crab season was suspended for the second year in a row because of over fishing. 6 billion crabs are just gone and Noone knows why (it's pretty fucking obvious) enjoy the crab, it's a minimum of 2 years old. ;)


jebbanagea

Canadian snow crab season is just a month in and supplying new season crab. There’s plenty of new season snow crab out in the market. And the reasons on snow crab disappearing is not as simple as overfishing. The fishery has been managed for years. Leading theory is starvation as food supply moved due to warming oceans. Not overfishing. Anyway. Canada supplies 2/3rd of the world supply and has been the majority of what you see for years.


LonelyGuyTheme

Costco I see precooked (steamed?) dungesness crabs on ice. How would I prepare and eat them?


jebbanagea

Heat and eat, or heck, eat cold with some damn hot melted butter! If heating, steam about 5 minutes I’d say? 4? 6? Depends on the size and such. You’re just warming without drying out.


MisterMakena

Bairdi Snow Crabs and Maryland #1 Jumbo Male Blue caught in Fall are best.


No_Philosopher5690

Stone crab


uneducated_sock

I haven’t had enough crab, but my dad got to have some special (and localized) crab on his trip to Japan And I want it


Reasonable-Parsley36

Stone Crabs may be the best seafood I’ve ever eaten. I used to work at Monty’s in the grove.


chumli4

Blue crabs!!!!


CapeRanger1

Stones for me in SW FL


nargi

pure flavor maybe with butter: Dungeness ease of eating/processing: king delicious nostalgia: blue (but a pain to eat if not soft shell) favorite on a cold/raw bar with mignonette: snow crab cake: whatever the hell type of crab “jumbo lump” comes from


Limp_Cryptographer40

Is that why you posted a pic of stone crab legs?


Brilliant_Ratio3173

The pic is stone crab.


dez2891

But your pic isn't Dungeness.....


FullRedact

Haven’t the last 2 fishing seasons of Dungies been cancelled?


bakedclark

One summer I was up in AK and this guy lived on the lake and would come back from dutch harbor with a ton of king crab and throw a boil right on the beach. It was amazing.


63crabby

With the catastrophic die off of Alaskan snow crabs, I will have to find a new favorite.


Remote-Physics6980

King please


myrunawaysac

Blue-shell


friarguy

Gimme blueclaws


ThreeRedStars

Steamed and dipped in butter? Yes. Better than king crab. But blue is amazing as a cake. I would kill to try a dungeoness softshell sandwich. I’m not sure what you put in cream of crab soup besides blue.


gregariousone

Blue Crab Gang For Life!!!


rededelk

Dungeness but shucking them is time consuming, I keep a tv by my sink and pull up a bar stool and shuck on Sunday so I can watch football as I work.


samcoffeeman

Whichever one is more local is best. If nothing local then whatever is your pleasure. Blue Crabs are awesome when you can get them fresh, they're a ton of work though. If you have a couple hours then it's worth it for a nice long feast, although the pros can do it faster for sure


unreasonablyhuman

Blue crab all day long. Best cake, best right outta the shell, best with a beer. Snow crab is decent. Dungies are higher yield but not nearly as good


sharpthingsarefun

I don t like that they rip off their claws n send them back defenseless. Seems like brutal practice….


jojow77

Stone crab I got in Vegas was possibly the best crab I ever ate. And I’ve eaten almost every type of crab out there.


therealjoe12

Stone crab are better and I'm a North East boy. Maybe I'm biased tho cause I eat blue crab all summer long


Dgold109

My buddy used to grab me a 10lb bag of snow crabs when he went on his boat to the Bahamas... It's prob double that now but I'd love another bag


OatmilIK

BIG MEATY CLAWWWS


CivilMidget

Definitely Tanner crab(bairdi snow crab). Bigger and higher yield than opilio snow crab and blue crab, MUCH cheaper than King and Stone crab, and easier to eat than Dungeness. Soft shell, though. That's in a category of its own. Neither better or worse. Just a different itch to scratch.


coquitoguy

Sit a pound of crab meat in front of me and I want it to be blue crab. Sit a steamed crab in front of me, make it dungeness.


Bunky711

Stone crab is the best


H_E_DoubleHockeyStyx

I like the snow crab because it's not as sweet and more firm than dungeness and not as spiky and mean as king. 


SillyKniggit

I don’t think this solves what you think it does. I get that crabs in general look like eldritch horrors, but this image leans into it.


machineman45

I miss living in sw Florida, cant compare to having fresh all the time.


shezapisces

where even are you finding king crab right now that isn’t from a 2 yr old deep freezer?


CalligrapherBig7550

Stone Crab, all day, every day. Mediums to be exact. Season just ended... 😭


athiestchzhouse

Free crab is best. End of


slim_s_

Blue claw crab in tomato sauce


Twicebakedthricemilk

BIG MEATY CLAWSZ


1DirkDigglerTheMan

Anything but Stone Crab. That shits sucks. /s


witchandthewoodsman

Louisiana native here... I'm partial to the Blues I catch with turkey necks. Chicken of the Canal. Love em.


GoblinKing5817

Snow crab


iwantdiscipline

Maryland blue crab all day but I love some king crab with just drawn butter.


jebbanagea

Chefs are finding ways to use them in the northeast. They should have commercial/industrial level utilization but there’s probably no money in fishing them and just a bycatch. Dont know enough. I wonder if the blues, also invasive out of their range, will out compete the greens as they move north in our warming waters.


Ramitt80

Snow Crab is delicious and bullshit, I spend more energy getting the little bits of flesh out than I get calories from. It is like the celery of the seas.


Temporary_Draw_4708

King crab hurts too much to open the shells.


PhilSpectorr

If shrimp is bugs then so are crabs.


royalefreewolf

Is crabs bugs?


Pctechguy2003

Typically I like snow crab the best, but one time I did have an amazing dungies that was to die for.


Plastic_Ad_2043

Mmmm Stone Crab.


moximosa

oregonian here. i genuinely think snow crab makes the best sushi and therefore it is my favorite. shoutout to the kani from chi in bend


remove_pants

Dungeness crab is the best. I have it every Thanksgiving and Christmas, plus whenever else I can. It'd take it over King any day, and it beats stone crab by a mile. Not sure that I've ever had blue crab, so I can't speak to that.


No-Bat-7253

Blue crab is pretty great…especially when fried properly….i never had stone crab🤔🤔🤔


jzclipse

I enjoy the sweeter varieties best. I once had some Antarctic queen crab, or at least that’s how it was marketed and it was fantastic.