Beat The Butcher At The Beach Part II

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The same approach-I've found works just as well out here on the west Coast With the Dungeness crab (Cancer magister) and his Pacific seaboard relatives . . . even though most folks in this neck of the Woods seem to prefer to catch their crabs in store-bought ring nets and crab traps. And if you're truly adventurous (and know enough to approach these clawed crustaceans from the rear with a great deal of caution) you can even take the little brutes by hand: I've caught western Dungeness crabs this way In shallow water and I regularly forage rock crabs by hand from pools and shallow bays.

All true crabs are edible (unless they live !n polluted water . . . which is why you should always, ALWAYS check out the purity of your foraging grounds). And, as long as you obey the pertinent game laws, you can "bile up" and enjoy any of the critters that are big enough to take a nutpick to. Just drop the crustaceans alive into boiling water (it's the quickest and most humane way to kill them), leave them until their shells are bright red, and then pick out and eat their meat hot or cold with melted butter. Or, if you want to impress your friends, add a light white sauce and a white wine to the bill of fare.

SOME SELECTED MOLLUSKS

It Is unfortunate that the delicious abalone (Haliotis rufescens, Haliotis fulgens, Haliotis cracherodil, and Hal loos kamtschatkama) has become known as the "king of seafoods". For thanks to that publicity and the resulting demand for the mouthwatering steaks cut from these univalves (one shelled animals)-legalsized "ab" is now about as scarce as hens' teeth throughout much of its range up and down the Pacific coast.

And that's all the reason you need to forget abalone entirely . . . and concentrate your efforts on a number of the ab's far less renowned (but equally delectable) relatives.

The West Coast Intertidal zone from northern California to southern Mexico, for example, is the home of the often ignored owl limpet (Lottia gigantea). These huge gastropods-the shells, which look like squat tipis, are often more than three inches acrossare abundant in many areas and can be gathered at low tide simply by poppin' 'em off their rocky perches with a sharpened putty or other flexible knife.

As with all univalves, only the owl limpet's fleshy foot-which yields a steak about two inches across-is eaten. Tenderize the cut of meat by pounding it and storing it in the refrigerator overnight before it's cooked. Then dip each of the steaks (you'll need several for every eager eater!) in an egg and bread-crumb or cornmeal batter and fry 'em to a golden brown for a flavor that will wake up even the most jaded taste buds.

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