King Crab Sizing Criteria

If you're interested in preparing king crab, understanding how it's marketed can be a great asset. King crab is usually sold in size categories, and knowing what these mean can help you know what will work for the dish you're preparing.

  1. Grade Counts

    • Generally, when king crab is marketed for sale, it is sold according to how many legs it takes to make up 10 pounds. One common grade count, for example, is 12/14, which means that if you were to ask for 10 pounds of this size, you would get somewhere between 12 and 14 legs. Therefore, smaller grades generally mean the legs will be large, while the reverse is true for higher grades. King crab grades usually range from 4/6 to 21/24.

    Claws

    • Claws not are often included in the grade count system. However, they are usually packaged with the legs anyway. Claws also can be different sizes, as the crabs always have one large claw and one small claw.

    King Crab Types

    • When buying king crab, it's important to know what type you're getting, since king crab types sometimes indicate different sizes. Red king crabs are the largest and most popular. Golden king crabs are usually smaller, and blue king crabs have larger claws.