FAQs
What You Need To Know When Purchasing Quality Crab For Your Restaurant
Why don't you produce a leg and claw pack?
We are in the business of making you and your guests happy. Our program gives each and every customer a 100 percent usable case of Crab. There is zero shake in our pack. The last time that anyone touched your crab was when it was raw and packed into the cooking cage in Dutch Harbor, Alaska. You are literally the first person to touch it since it was raw. Our case yields a net 40 pounds with gross weight of 44-45 pounds. You are getting what you pay for.
Why do some of the clusters have darker scarring on the bottom of the legs?
The darker scars on the crabs is caused when the animal is walking along the ocean bottom. Scarring on the shell is an indicator that the Crab was a skip molt, which means it did not shed its shell. This is actually beneficial, as skip molts have a greater infill of meat due to the crab not molting.
How do I make single legs out of a cluster?
It is very simple to turn a cluster into single legs. Simply separate each leg individually up at the shoulder. This can be accomplished in a matter of seconds with bare hands.
How do I serve crab to make it easy for my guests?
Instead of serving the legs whole, begin at the toe of the leg and separate at each joint going up the leg. This method will remove the tendon from the next section. With a pair of kitchen shears you can make one cut lengthwise on the smaller sections and two or more cuts crosswise on the larger sections. This provides easy access as your guests can just push the meat out with a cocktail fork. Be creative and stack your pieces of crab up on the plate for a cool presentation. Just because everyone else has been putting whole legs on a plate forever doesn’t mean it’s the smartest way. Have your prep cooks cut, weigh and bag your crab for easy plating during service.
I've always served split legs, I can't possibly change!
Think about what you are doing and consider the quality of the crab. Yes the meat is exposed for easy access, but the guest has to fight to separate the meat from the tendon in each of the split legs. Additionally the exposure of the meat in the freezer gets dehydrated.
I always buy 6/9 counts, that's what I've always served.
First, you sell crab by the weight, not by the piece. A pound is a pound. How many times have you cut open a big leg and saw a small piece of meat and lots of empty space? Why not consider quality and sustainability over wow factor? Impress them with great crab, not a big shell. You’ll also be ahead economically because all of the space in the shell fills with water during processing and then freezes. Your highest drip loss is with crab that has poor infill.
What's the best way to handle my crab?
Keep your crab in the case and pull it out a day before it’s needed. Thaw your product in your cooler under refrigeration. Never thaw your crab at room temperature or under water in the sink.
I love the crab but the price will ruin my food cost!
Forget the percentage and think about profit. Would you rather sell a pasta dish with a 20 percent food cost and bank $7, or sell one pound of Crab to the same guest at a 50 percent food cost and bank $20+? You will have to sell three pasta dishes to equal the profit of one pound of Crab.