Fresh salmon and crab in garlic butter

Steveston fish market on the weekends is a truly wonderful thing. How ingenious to simply have the boats dock and sell their daily catch right out of it! The prices are reasonable as well--$5 / lb for freshly-caught salmon. We snagged ourselves a lovely 4 lb fish for $20, which will make a good 4 meals for the two of us. The trip really stemmed from David's ardent desire for fresh dungeness crab, which is hard to get (and thoroughly expensive) in Chicago. Within minutes, David had happily acquired a nice 1.5 lb crab and we were on our way. There was much debate about how to prepare our "catch". In the end, however, David decided that given the freshness of it, not much would be required.

Recipe

2 salmon steaks1.5 lb crab3 garlic cloves, finely chopped4 tbsp butter1 tbsp lemon juicesalt and pepperSeason salmon steaks with salt and pepper. Melt 2 tbsp butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Pan-fry 2 cloves of chopped garlic and add the salmon steaks to the pan. Cook for about 10 minutes (about 5 minutes each side) or until cooked through. Before serving, sprinkle lemon juice on top.For the crab, wash in cold water. Place crab in a steam tray over a pot of boiling water and close the lid. Steam for about 15 minutes. Remove crab and rinse under cold water. For instructions on cleaning the crab, click here. Prepare garlic butter in a pan (melt 2 tbsp of butter with 1 chopped garlic clove). Sauté garlic for a few minutes, over medium-low heat, being careful not to brown it. Add the crab to the pan to warm, but not cook any further.

Musings

A few notes on preparation: I'm always a little dismayed when dealing with live animals. Given the amount of meat we consume, it is bizarre how disturbed we are when having to deal with killing the animal in our home. An internet search also doesn't yield conclusive results on the most humane way to kill crab--common practice says boiling water is the quickest death, whereas humane societies suggest electro-stun killing using a "Crustastun" (not really feasible for non-commercial enterprises though). Spiking (using a knife to pierce the nerve center) for crab may be the most rapid method with minimal pain, at least without special equipment.In light of these issues, we took care to not waste anything, and it resulted in a super delicious, much-appreciated meal. Because of its freshness, garlic butter was plenty sufficient to complement the salmon and crab. The crab was succulent and sweet, and the salmon tender, moist and flavourful. Paired with a side of mushroom risotto, the meal was suitably superb.