November signals short season for scallops, crabs

CHICAGO (WLS) -- It must be early November, because that's the first sign of Nantucket Bay scallops in Chicago. Shaw's Crab House - in the city and Schaumburg - is a reliable source each fall; completely different from the massive diver scallops you typically see, these beauties are high in glycogen, which means...

"When you cook them, it caramelizes and you get this very sweet flavor. And also when you get these scallops fresh you can eat them raw. A lot of people think they're the best sushi-type item," said Shaw's GM, Steve LaHaie.

At Shaw's they sear them quickly on a flat top griddle, serve them with sauteed spinach and rice, give them a gentle bump from butter sauce, and offer a fresh lemon.

"This would be either the top or up there with stone crab in terms of people calling 'when are you gonna have those little scallops,'" he said.

This time of year, the workers at Dirk's Fish and Gourmet Shop look like they're opening their Christmas presents, because it also means King Crab season from Alaska.

"When it's fresh, I call it OMG crab, that's the first words out of everybody's mouth when they taste this stuff," said Dirk's owner, Dirk Fucik. "The easiest way to do this is with a pair of shears, kitchen shears, which everybody should have in the kitchen. Don't use a mallet, cause you'll just smash the shell into the meat and create a mess."

They're not cheap - about 50 bucks a pound - but once you get a taste of the fresh stuff, it's hard to go back.

"I mean this piece of meat is called the maris and it's like the filet mignon of this crab," he said.

Now those Nantucket Cape scallops are going to be around the rest of the winter, but the King crab - much shorter season. In fact, by the time this airs, the fresh season may be over. Dirk says he's going to freeze these, so he will have them through the winter, but they're going to be fresh-frozen, not fresh, like they are right now.

Even though prices seem high for Alaskan king crab, the price is about 20 percent less than it was last year at this time.

Shaw's Crab House

21 E. Hubbard St.

312-527-2722

1900 E. Higgins Rd., Schaumburg

847-517-2722

http://www.shawscrabhouse.com/

Dirk's Fish & Gourmet Shop

2070 N Clybourn Ave

(773) 404-3475

http://www.dirksfish.com/