Crabs

Six kinds of crab are important in commercial kitchens.

1. Alaskan king crab.

   Largest of the crabs, weighing 6 to 20 lb (2.7 to 9 kg). The meat can be removed in large chunks, making it especially attractive to serve in restaurants. It is expensive.

2. Alaskan snow crab.

   Smaller than the king crab. Often used as a less expensive substitute.

3. Dungeness crab.

   Another West Coast crab, weighing 1½ to 4 lb (0.7 to 1.8 kg). The meat is very sweet.

4. Blue crab.

   Small crab from the East Coast, weighing about 5 oz (140 g). Most frozen crabmeat is from blue crabs.

5. Soft-shell crab.

   Actually a molting blue crab, harvested before the new shell has hardened. It is sautéed or fried and eaten shell and all; only the gills and head are removed.

   Soft-shell crabs must be cleaned before being cooked. The procedure is shown in Figure 20.17.

6. Stone crab.

   Popular in the Southeast. Only the claws are eaten.