There are certain activities in life that I would honestly describe as comprehensively perfect. Like a delicious dip in clear turquoise waters with my kids. Or a bike ride with my sisters under a crisp blue sky during spring. Or a work-free afternoon with some of the funniest people I know, the lot of us sipping libations while our favorite tunes set the scene. Moments laden with sensory input, provisions and most importantly, togetherness. Which is why I believe that sitting together for a meal of Dungeness crab is itself one such comprehensively perfect activity.
One such perfect moment that always stands out to both myself and my husband Arron (WAC founder + CEO) is a simple, steamed crab dinner that we shared, not long after I began to call Homer, Alaska home. Our first child was still too little to use a spoon, let alone crack Dungeness crab. But he was busy exploring the world with his other senses. A table laden with crab was a novel feast for his senses, his curiosity piqued by the sight and sound of shells cracking, the smell of fragrant steam wafting from a large, vintage pot, all of it inviting him to stretch out from his high chair, grasping the morsels of crab that we were setting within his reach.
To me, this memory speaks to something elemental that is awakened in us when sharing a communal, tactile, multisensory, interactive feast. It’s a key reason why the act of cracking crab with people you love is a shared experience worthy of the term “core memories.” I also find beauty in the fact that the Dungeness crab we source is harvested by hand by Alaskan crabbers. Cracking shells can serve a nice full-circle reminder and homage to the harvesters in which they, like you, are using your hands to access the crab.
Of course, there is the absolute deliciousness of Dungeness crab, with its tender meat that is at once salty and sweet. Dungies have a robust texture, so they’re well-suited to be eaten straight out of the shell. But Dungeness crab is also delectable in salads, omelets, seafood boils, pasta dishes, or in a risotto — if you have the enviable self-control to not eat every morself of crab as soon as it’s out of the shell.
In sum, to enjoy crab is to not only lean into the dynamic bounty of wild-caught Alaskan seafood, but to do so with ease, convenience, possibilities, clean protein and good old fashioned, memory-making fun.
If you’re a WAC member, you can add Dungeness crab to your next box by logging into your account here. Happy crackin’!
Live Wild!
Monica
Pictured above: A snapshot of the Kallenberg family table from yesteryear, laden with Snap & Eat Dungeness Crab.
