King Crab

Name: King Crab
Latin Name: (Red) Paralithodes camtschatica, Paralithodes platypus
                     (Golden) Lithodes aequispina, Lithodes antarctius

Harvest Area: North Pacific / Bering Sea

Seasons: Late Fall to Early Winter

Characteristics: Firm, sweet, flavorful meat. Very nice presentation, due to contrast between the brilliant red membrane and snow white flesh. The Red King Crab is more prized than the Golden.

Grade/Pack: Red and Golden are packed IQF in a 20# leg and claw pack and are numerically sized by the average count of legs and claws per 10#. Red sizes are 9/12, 12/14, 14/17 and 16/20. Golden sizes are 16/20, 20/40 and 24/48. The smallest count designation is 20up, which can count as 30 or more pieces per 10#. Sometimes split legs are sold either in bulk - for food service - or in 12 oz packages for retail. The Red King Crab legs can be either brine frozen (domestic method) or blast frozen (Russian method). The blast frozen meat often sticks to the shell. The brine frozen product can be salty. Meat is also sometimes sold in 60/40 pack.

Traditional Applications: Food service.

Substitutes: Golden King Crab is often used as a substitute for Red King Crab. Other substitutes are Snow Crab single cuts, Snow Crab clusters, Snap'n Eats, and Chilean Centolla (King Crab) meat.

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