buying crab in YVR
Hey pals. Can you please let me know where to buy a really nice live crab in Vancouver? Thank you!
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Would T&T kill and clean the crabs too? I've never bought them before, but Orangette's recent blog post has inspired me to have a crab feast this weekend.
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re: lotuskitty
fmed
Feb 24, 2009 10:10 PM
Ideally fresh crab is alive right up until the moment you cook it....otherwise you get it fresh-cooked (whole or meat), canned, or frozen. I have purchased frozen crab legs at T&T and Costco.
I see from her post that "your fishmonger should be happy to clean and crack it for you..." I have never attempted that with live crabs personally I have always been warned that crustaceans go bad very quickly unless processed immediately after death....someone correct me if I'm wrong. She might be talking about cooked crab, come to think of it.
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re: fmed
starlady
Feb 25, 2009 09:00 PM
I believe that you actually have a couple of hours after they are cleaned to cook them.
WHen I lived in Victoria we would pick them up at Fisherman's Wharf have them cleaned, pick up a bottle (or two) of wine on the way home and then wait for the water to boil before tossing them in, and we did it all walking. So maybe 1.5 hours all told. And they were always delicious!
Also when I worked at a busy seafood resto we would routinely clean 5-6 crab and lobster each on the premise that they would be ordered that night. So they were kept in the fridge for 4-5 hours after they were killed before they were cooked. If they weren't ordered by a certain time they were cooked off for chowder the next day.-
re: starlady
fmed
Feb 25, 2009 09:18 PM
>>I believe that you actually have a couple of hours after they are cleaned to cook them.
Good to know starlady. I've never tried that as I always cook fresh live crab (it is the way my dad does it).
I did do a bit of googling after my post last night and here is a post right here on Chowhound about this very topic:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/524925
The crab's own enzymes 'digests' itself immediately after death...so cook it as soon as possible!
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re: fmed
grayelf
Feb 26, 2009 07:06 AM
I was at T&T by the stadium on Sunday and the Wall of Crustaceans there struck me as pretty impressive, selection-wise. I believe I saw king for $13.99 a pound which seems reasonable, bearing in mind I don't eat crab :-). I am going to do a field trip to this store soon and spend a whole afternoon just browsing, but I am not going to tell any of my non-Chowish friends as they will think I am bonkers...
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re: grayelf
fmed
Feb 26, 2009 11:24 AM
>> I believe I saw king for $13.99 a pound which seems reasonable
'Tis the season. You can get King Crab at this price (actually lower! $13.80/lb live) cooked at places like Sun Sui Wah if you don't want the hassle of cooking it yourself (just try to find a pot big enough to cook one of these suckers). But no crab for you grayelf.
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re: fmed
waver
Feb 26, 2009 12:38 PM
When I've bought freshly killed crab at the Lobster Man (GI) they break the crab into several pieces (4 or 6 maybe?) and it is nothing but the shell and meat, ie no innards, liver, or whatever. They say it can then be kept refrigerated for a while, possibly upto 2 days?
I have also them packed for overseas travel this way with dry ice. Unfortunately the luggage got lost - actually only the crab box got lost, the suitcases were fine. The conversation with the Swiss authorities was well beyond my sad French, but once they understood the situation there was much hand wringing all around. Anyway, by the time it was delivered it was still tasty, not as good as throwing the live ones in the pot, but better than packing live ones on ice AND then having them die, that would be baaaad on so many levels.
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You have to check out the Dollarton Crab Shop in North Vancouver. It's close to the 2nd Narrow's Bridge and easy to get to and find. 2464 Dollarton Highway, North Vancouver.
Really excellent quality.›3 Replies -
