Enjoying a meal of quality crab legs at your home is easier than ever. You might consider a restaurant one of the only places to enjoy crab, but online seafood stores make it very simple to have the freshest crab legs delivered to you. Initially, you might be confused to know that crab legs are actually shipped frozen. The freezing process brings about some skepticism about the true freshness of the crab. We will clear up the fresh but frozen condition of crab legs below. In addition, we will give you preparation tips to properly thaw and cook your crab legs. For now, we’ll start with some basic crab leg pricing to let you know how much you can expect to spend.

Fresh King Crab Prices

Company Price/lb Minimum Order Shipping Order
Global Seafoods $35.00 5 lbs $16.20
Crab Place $42.29 1 lb $29.95
Fulton Fish Market $51.00 2 lbs Free
Seabear Smokehouse $63.60 2.5 lb $19.99
Cameron’s Seafood $65.99 3 lbs $39.99

Processing Fresh Crab Legs

Each year, crab fishing fleets hit the icy waters of Alaska and other areas of the North Pacific to set traps and catch crab for the season. Because the season is short, fishers maximize their catch by using efficienct processing steps. Those cleaning the crab make quick work of breaking down the crab to the edible parts and cleaning away the inedible parts, such as the organs. This way, the fishers can drop off the haul then go back out and catch more.

According to information from Sea Grant Oregon, the initial cooking of the crab mimics the blanching method. Once the crab is clean, it goes into boiling water to cook completely. The freshly boiled crab then goes into an ice bath or very cold water to stop the cooking process. The last step is flash freezing the crab. As suppliers fulfill orders, they package the frozen, fully-cooked crab in special refrigerated packaging and send the fresh crab legs to the consumer.

When you order crab legs online, you can expect them to be treated the same. The exception would be if you purchase live crab. The freezing step does not impact the texture of the crab. It actually preserves the taste of the crab and makes sure it lasts whether you choose to eat it upon arrival or later.

Preparing Fresh Crab Legs for Sale

It is important to know how to store, thaw, and cook crab legs to make sure they taste delicious and last until you need them. Crab legs that you order should arrive frozen. If you plan to eat the crab legs within the next couple of days, keep the legs in the fridge to thaw. Heating the crab legs from frozen also works. The best place to order crab legs online will include preparation tips and tricks with your order.

If they don’t, we’ll help you out. Look through these four easy ways to prepare fresh crab legs for some ideas. Generally, “cooking” the crab legs means heating them up. Remember, they are fully cooked. Delicate heating methods will ensure your crab does not become dry or rubbery.

You might order crab legs online before you actually need them. The good news is crab can last in the freezer for a few months. Southern Living recommends leaving the crab meat in the shell versus picking the meat. This prevents freezer burn and a change in texture. Thaw any amount of frozen crab that you need for a meal and leave the rest in the freezer.