Dungeness Crab Salad // Brunch and Lunch

Some of my favorite childhood food memories are when we would spread newspaper all over the dining room table and have crab legs by the dozens. There is nothing more satisfying when you crack the leg just right and pull out that huge piece of sweet, meaty flesh in a whole piece. That sounds a little cannibalistic when I say it like that! But hey, who are we kidding? I will eat those meaty legs all day long…

I was such a brat in restaurants when I was little. I would order crab legs every chance I got, even though I was 5. My poor parents would have to crack and shell all of my crab for me in a little mound before they could even get to their own meals. This is the 101 millionth reason why I love my parents so much. I am so appreciative now that they made me be an adventure eater when I was young and didn’t always hold me to the chicken nuggets and mac-n-cheese on the menu. But don’t get me wrong, I definitely had my fair share of Kraft Mac and Spagetti O’s by the bucket full.
 
In Florida, we would always have either Blue or Stone crabs which are amazing, but now that I live in Oregon the Dungeness crab is the king around here and the Mack Daddy of the crab kingdom! The peak season here is from December- April and you can bet your little fanny that I am constantly eyeing them in the store. I’d love to go crabbing this year. From what I understand, crabbing is just throwing crab traps into the water while you wait in the boat and consume beverages. Sounds like my kind of day! Until we can do the real thing, for now I’ll just have to settle for the seafood counter.
 
Last week we finally decided to splurge and have a crab feast! Thomas did all the work and created a glorious mound of crab meat which I mercilessly kept stealing bites from. We made the creamiest dreamiest crab salad that was perfect for brunch. It was the topper to toasty sourdough bread, smoked salmon, and the softest scrambled eggs you’ve ever put in your mouth. For the life of me I can’t understand why I always wanted my scrambled eggs “dry”. I would specifically ask for that in restaurants. Grosssss. Thomas showed me a way to cook scrambled eggs on very low heat, constantly mixing until they are pillowy and perfect, and then adding a small slab off butter at the end with a sprinkle of salt & peppa. 

With that being said, this should definitely be on your lazy Sunday brunch menu this weekend! And if you’re lucky enough to have leftovers, you can make a boring salad SO much better like I did with this spinach salad!
 

 Dungeness Crab Breakfast Toasts

 Ingredients
Crab salad

 -2 pounds of Dungeness crab (meat removed, save the shells and make seafood stock if you want!)
 -2 green onions, white and green parts finely chopped
 -3 tablespoons mayonnaise 
 -2 teaspoons fresh squeezed lemon juice 
 -a handful of chopped parsley 
 -Salt and pepper to taste
  
Assembly
 – scrambled eggs
 – smoked salmon
 – good crusty bread
 
What to do
1) crack all of the crab legs to get the meat out. Thomas just used the back of a knife, but if you have shell crackers even better! Put all the meat in a large bowl. 
2) gently mix in the mayo, lemon juice, green onion, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste. We wanted the crab to really stand out, but if you want yours a little creamier, add more mayo or sour cream to your liking. 
3) to make the scrambled eggs, whisk 5 or 6 large eggs in a bowl and then pour into a non-stick skillet over medium-low heat. Continuously stir the eggs with a wooden spoon or spatula and if you see the eggs cooking too quickly remove from heat and continue to stir until the cooking process has slowed. After 5 or so minutes when the eggs have scrambled, remove from heat and add a small slice of butter and incorporate into the eggs. Add a pinch of salt and pepper, and voila! Perfect scrambled eggs 🙂 
4) To assemble, make the toasty slice of bread your base and then add the eggs, slices of smoked salmon, and topped with crab salad. 
 
Note on the salad: My favorite quick salad is to use spinach or arugala and then coat the leaves with fresh lemon juice, olive oil, grated Parmesan, and salt and pepper! 

Enjoy!
 
Participating in https://www.midlifecroissant.com/saucy-saturdays-blog-hop-84/ 

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