The Joy of Hosting a Dungeness Crab Feast

The Aroma of Culinary Anticipation

A cloud of garlic-scented steam billowing from the oven sets the stage as Chef Jason Halverson crouches before a tray of roasted, butter-slick Dungeness crab. “Oh, my God, I love you,” he exclaims, gazing lovingly at the bounty of locally caught shellfish. This moment is just the calm before the delicious storm; in about 25 minutes, a dozen friends and colleagues will flood into his Marina District apartment for an annual tradition—a blowout feast to celebrate the onset of Dungeness season.

The evening’s offerings include heaping platters of fresh, bay-caught crab, pasta drenched in a rich sauce bolstered with crab fat, and plenty of crispy fried chicken to round out the menu.

Chef Jason Halverson: A Culinary Background

Before launching Hi Neighbor Hospitality, the culinary group behind renowned establishments like The Vault Steakhouse and Mama Oakland, Halverson honed his skills at esteemed kitchens such as La Folie and Michael Mina. Yet, despite his impressive culinary pedigree, he’s resolute in his belief that any home cook can pull off a spectacular crab feast. “Hosting this kind of dinner is ballsy,” he notes. “Your house can get the brunt of it between the crab shrapnel and lingering smells of garlic and butter. But it’s high risk, high reward—and so much fun.”

The Essential First Step: Sourcing the Crab

Halverson starts his culinary adventure by sourcing the crabs. For the past three years, he’s procured his crustaceans directly from the boats at Fisherman’s Wharf. This year, he rises with the sun, arriving at Pier 47 at 6 a.m. on a Sunday to snag first-of-the-season crabs from Shawn Chen Flading’s boat, FV KVINS.

For transport, Halverson brings along a khaki-colored Yeti Tundra cooler packed with ice. Most crab sellers at the wharf accept Venmo or Zelle, but Halverson prefers cash. This year, Dungeness off the boat costs $11 per pound, translating to about $25 per crab, resulting in a total haul of 21 crabs costing $421—14 designated for the feast and a few gifted to neighbors and friends.

Ensuring Puffing Freshness

Timing is key when it comes to enjoying crabs. “You really don’t want to try to store them any longer than 36 hours,” Halverson advises. If necessity dictates holding them alive a bit longer, he suggests covering them with damp newspaper or, if available, a layer of seaweed. “Try to store them as cold as possible, without freezing,” he emphasizes, while also maintaining some moisture.

The Art of Cooking Crabs

With a plethora of crabs in hand, Halverson utilizes a commercial kitchen to cook his crabs. He fills a gigantic stock pot with boiling water, adding a spice mix of salt, cayenne pepper, fennel seed, and coriander seed—ingredients he learned to use while working at La Folie. “If you’re boiling crab at home, I suggest using an 8-quart stock pot, which should fit two crabs. Add about one cup of spice mix,” he recommends.

To achieve that perfect roasted finish, he opts to slightly undercook the meat during boiling—about 10 minutes is sufficient. Following this, he plunges the crabs into an ice bath before beginning the laborious task of breaking them down. “Rip off the head first—the top, the cabeza,” he instructs, as it contains “fatty goodness” perfect for sauce-making.

Halverson deftly removes the apron, innards, and gills before cutting the crab into quarters. “I like going down to quarters because it doesn’t make you feel obligated to grab so much; you don’t have to have such a full plate at all times.”

Creating a Flavorful Butter-Spread

The next step in Halverson’s preparations takes place at home, where the oven preheats to a toasty 450 degrees. Here, he concocts a compound butter that introduces his secret ingredient: Boursin, a soft, Gournay-style cheese. “I accidentally discovered this,” he shares. “I didn’t have enough butter, but I had a lot of Boursin.”

The trick here, Halverson notes, is that, unlike butter which often pools at the bottom of a pan, the cheese clings beautifully to the shells. He blends equal parts room-temperature butter and Boursin, enhancing it with alliums on hand—typically chives and minced shallots. Using disposable gloves to mix the ingredients ensures thorough blending.

Roasting for a Tasty Finale

Each piece of crab gets slathered in the butter-cheese mixture, transferred onto a rimmed baking sheet, and roasted in the oven for about 15 minutes. “The coating becomes this delicious garlicky, cheesy butter that leaves you licking your fingers,” he describes. “It makes it a little bit more fun… a little bit more robust.”

Halverson rounds out the menu with a refreshing salad comprised of shaved radicchio, sliced persimmons, and apples, dressed in a lemon vinaigrette. “It’s good to have something lighter and sweeter to balance out all the richness,” he explains. “Follow your heart.”

Crafting an Aromatic Pasta Dish

If the pasta dish is the sleeper hit of the evening, it’s no surprise why. The process begins with tossing the discarded shells into a pan with a generous knob of butter until they become aromatic. Halverson then incorporates tomato paste and a splash of white wine before filing the pot with water to create a quick crab stock.

In a separate pan, he sweats garlic, fennel, and onion, adding cherry tomatoes and a bit of the crab stock. After a reduction, he enhances the mix using the reserved crab fat, blended to a smooth paste.

Finishing touches come as he mixes in parboiled pasta, allowing it to absorb the sauce and cook to perfect al dente. “I’ve started to lean away from strand pastas,” he mentions, favoring extruded types like rigatoni or fusilli, which are better suited for sharing and easier to serve.

The Grand Feast Begins

As the guests arrive, they toast with Champagne while Halverson brings the food to a long table covered in butcher paper. Bubbles are the drink of choice, complemented by a zippy Austrian white wine, Emmerich Knoll Grüner Veltliner.

Equipped with crab crackers and plastic bibs, the guests dive into the Dungeness crabs over the course of two hours, filling metal buckets with empty shells and discarded napkins. The atmosphere is filled with laughter and the joyous sounds of cracking shells, punctuated by the aroma of garlic and butter.

The Aftermath: Tidying Up with Wisdom

As the last bite is consumed, Halverson guides his friends out the door, bracing himself for the inevitable mountain of dishes. Along with a box of leftover fried chicken, he shares words of wisdom for anyone attempting to recreate his epic dinner party: “Have fun, have a big trash can ready to go, and there’s never too much butter.”