A Guide to Buying Whole Dungeness Crab for Sale

Many people stock up on Dungeness crab during peak season months. A lot of people even go crabbing themselves to have access to freshly caught Dungeness crab. Dungeness crab certainly has gained a following. Wherever you are might not be along the Pacific near daily fish markets, let alone near the West Coast. Luckily, you have several buying options for whole Dungeness crab that enable you to purchase them from your own home. We will go through the difference in buying live versus frozen whole crab, including their respective prices.

Dungeness Crab Prices

Live or Frozen Whole Dungeness Crab?

Dungeness crab enthusiasts might claim there is no purer way to enjoy the crab than to buy it live or catch it yourself. However, pre-cooked Dungeness crab, at least hypothetically, should be very similar to live crab. The choices are separated mostly by price. The quality of the crab, though, does not diminish when fishers pre-cook it. Before we get into the pricing, we want to discuss what options you have for buying a whole Dungeness crab, whether cooked or live, and situations where you might want one over the other.

In any of its forms, Dungeness crab is a valued crab variety. While you can buy clusters of legs, many will agree that buying a whole crab is the way to go. Now comes the decision between live or cooked Dungeness crab. Buying a live Dungeness crab gives you the added experience of boiling the crab to make it ready to eat. This may not be a deal breaker for you. Whole cooked Dungeness crab are still intact, meaning that you still need to clean the crab’s main shell and crack all of the legs for the meat. The key difference really is how you plan to serve the crab.

For occasions like a seafood boil, a live whole Dungeness may add to the presentation value of the meal. For other dishes such as crab cakes or other main dishes, you may find the convenience of pre-cooked Dungeness beneficial, seeing as you only have to harvest the meat to use in your recipe. We want to note that live crab must be cooked within 24 hours of receiving the crab to make sure it does not go bad. Keep this in mind when deciding how you want to use the crab. No matter which style of Dungeness crab you choose, you can purchase both from online seafood sites. Here is information on the pricing.

Whole Dungeness Crab Price

Generally speaking, live Dungeness crabs are more expensive than cooked ones. Live crabs tend to cost around $40 per crab. Each crab weighs around 1.5 to 2 pounds. Comparatively, whole Dungeness crab that are pre-cooked run for roughly $30 per crab. There are a couple possible reasons for the price difference. One reason could be the added shipping precautions for live crab that may not be necessary to the same degree for cooked ones. A second reason could be that seafood operations may only sell a certain amount of live crab online, making the price a bit higher.

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