I know weather was pretty dismal this past spring in many parts of the U.S., not the least up here in the Northwest where we brokethe kinds of records you’re never too excited to hear about: the coldest April; the next-to-wettest March. So now that the last week or so has actually been summery, with crystal clear skies and warm temps (we’re due to break 80 degrees again today!), it has Seattleites collectively stepping away from their stoves and heading out back to grill. At my house it was grilled lamb burgers last week, which I topped with a combo of crumbled feta and lemon zest, a simple and delicious reminder of the flavor impact that the kiss of the grill brings to everything cooked outdoors.

Last night my grilling inspiration went a bit seaward for some reason. Part of yesterday’s workload had me writing something about Dungeness crab, which is all it takes to plant that seed in my brain for dinnertime consideration. And of course, the heat of the day had me tuned into grilling anyway. So I figured, why not? Grilling’s certainly not the first thing you think of when consider the cooking of crab, but it surely couldn’t be terrible.

The idea brought to mind one of my favorite recipes from my Crab cookbook (it’s okay for cookbook authors to have favorite recipes from their books, isn’t it? I always think I’m supposed to “love them all equally, just like my children…” of which I have none anyway). It’s this roasted crab, which is so simple to throw together and produces phenomenal aromas as it cooks. We’re so used to cooking crabs by moist heat, whether steamed or boiled — it really changes things up to use intensive dry heat instead. The roasting of the shells in the process adds distinct rich flavor to the meat that you can’t get otherwise.

So it was with those thoughts in mind that I prepped yesterday’s crab for the grill. I picked up a couple of pre-cooked Dungeness at the store and — of course — said “yes, please!” when the friendly fellow behind the counter asked if I wanted him to clean them for me. At home, all I did was to use a heavy knife to cut each crab in half where it narrows at the midpoint, then into a big bowl with them. I grated fresh ginger and lemon zest generously over, and scattered the crab with a good dose of black pepper. A little drizzle of olive oil, toss them around to evenly mix, and into the fridge for an hour or two. I wish I’d tossed them a couple times along the way, to better assure even seasoning of all the portions.

So far, so easy, right?

Next I just set those halves right over the hot coals and cooked them until the shells smell kind of nutty-toasty and the meat’s likely to be heated through (remember it’s already fully cooked), probably 4 or 5 minutes per side. I may have left mine on a minute or two too long, a couple of the claw tips started to char. Not a major tragedy, but when you start hitting char you begin risk of the meat in those spots drying out.

I’d cut some lengthwise slices of zucchini to grill as well, plus an ear of sweet white corn. Oh, yeah, it was quite the tasty dinner. On to beer can chicken tonight. Lovin’ these summer evenings!