Crab Festival

Winter brings to mind mouth-watering thoughts of Salty’s "You Crack Me Up!" Crab Festival. This Pacific Northwest crab festival is a very popular winter event. Each December and January Salty's Seafood Grills attract gourmet food lovers from Seattle, Des Moines, Kent, Tacoma, Federal Way, Redondo Beach and Portland, Oregon, to celebrate this crabbiest of crustaceans.

Even though crabs are available most of the year, we celebrate crab in the winter as it is the time when most crab tend be more “filled out” with a higher quantity of sweet, fresh meat. It is also the height of the commercial crabbing season, meaning we can offer a great variety of the freshest catch at very affordable prices. At Salty’s Seafood Grills, diners feast on Dungeness crab, King crab, Snow crab and Jonah crab during our “You Crack Me Up” Crab Festival.

With its sweet and succulent meat, Dungeness crab is always one of the most popular items on our menu. This delectable treat is simply the best crab that can be found. Even though the Dungeness crab is named for a small town on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula it is fished from the Aleutian Islands to Mexico. In Puget Sound this crab is most abundant north of Seattle, in Hood Canal, and near the Pacific coast.

King crabs are caught in the Bering Sea by the bravest of souls as Alaskan king crab fishing is ranked as the world’s number 1 most dangerous profession. These giant crabs can have a six-foot leg span and a single crab can yield over six pounds of meat. King crabs are known throughout the world for their stringy texture and sweet-salty flavor.

The Jonah crab inhabits the deep water and rocky bottoms in the north Atlantic. It is quickly becoming a culinary darling of four-star chefs from coast to coast. Closely related to the Dungeness crab, it is prized for the sweet, tender meat that comes from its large, strong claws.

Snow crabs are reminiscent of smaller King crabs. Though not as sweet as the King or Dungeness crab, the Snow crab has meat that is rich and firm with fine, tender filaments that are exquisitely mild and tasty.

Crab cuisine can run the gamut from the simplest cracked crab served with cocktail sauce or drawn butter to elaborate and unique fine dining preparations. Crab can be eaten just out of its shell -- hot with butter or chilled and unadulterated. Crab salad. Crab bisque. Crab cakes. So many dishes, so many choices. Each year our chefs create new and wonderful dishes to showcase this Northwest delicacy. In addition, at Salty’s Seafood Grills, we partner our crab dishes with select wines and outstanding craft brews.

And while Dungeness, King, Snow and Jonah crabs may all take center stage during Salty's Crab Festival, seafood lovers will still find their favorite oysters, scallops, prawns and other fresh fish dishes on our menu. And, if you're in the mood for a great steak, we've got a selection of beef dishes sure to please your palette. See our chefs’ current restaurant market sheets and menus at

Mark your calendars and come share this Northwest tradition at Salty's Seafood Grills. Call us or go to http://www.saltys.com/reservations to make your restaurant reservation today.

For more information on crab, check out these links:

http://homecooking.about.com/cs/productreviews/p/crab_pro.htm
General crab information with links to recipes and related articles

http://www.dungeness.com/crab/
General information on Dungeness crab, reproduction, harvesting, crabbing regulations, cooking and recipes

http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/shelfish/crab/
Washington State general information, FAQs, crabbing seasons, rules and regulations, licensing requirements

http://www.dfw.state.or.us/MRP/shellfish/crab/
Oregon State general information, FAQs, research, along with where, when and how to crab, crabbing regulations

http://santarosa.about.com/od/foodandwine/a/crab.htm
How to clean and cook Dungeness crab

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