Meghan and Captain Corey’s
dockhand measure
the crab.
Below, oysters are grilled
on one of the self-serve
BBQs at Westcott Bay
Shellfish Company’s
open patio seating.
and grey beauties. Whoops and cheers
broke the silence.
Pot after pot brought in just enough
crab for us all to take turns, measuring
and sorting until our limits were
reached. The sun, the salt, and the boat
filled with crab. I thought it couldn’t get
much better. But it did.
Once back on the dock, Corey started
the flame under his propane crab cooker.
He cooked and cleaned all the crab,
dumping it onto the deck. And suddenly,
we found ourselves cracking crab
with the bottom of cold beer bottles.
(Megan used her teeth. The sign of a
true local.)
We ate the sweet-salty goodness,
still warm and fresh, until we couldn’t
eat anymore. And somehow, the pile
of uncracked crab seemed just as big
as before we’d begun. Corey packed the
remainder of our spoils on ice. I said my
goodbyes to Meghan and meandered my
way to the seaplane dock in time for the
day’s final flight home to Kenmore just
before sunset.
To say it was a day to be remembered,
is putting it mildly. And with all
that leftover crab (thanks Corey!), the
delight of getting away continued. The
following recipe is a contribution from
the well-loved Carter family of Kenmore,
Wash. and Pearl Island.
Spending summers in the islands has
meant the pots were always soaking.
This recipe for crab cakes is not only
delicious and impressive, it’s the Carter
family solution for what to do when
you’re blessed with excessive bounty.
These beauties can even be frozen and
enjoyed as a sweet bite of summer
island fun throughout the year.
San Juan Adventures offers highly customizable fishing excursions for
everything from Lingcod and Shrimp to Dungeness Crab.
sanjuancharters.net
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