If you think that bigger seafood is better, here is the most exquisite creature that will blow you away: King Crab. King Crab is the largest member of crab family. It can be found on the North Pacific from Southeast Alaska to Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia.
In Indonesia, now many restaurant serves king crab menu. Braised, baked, fried, they are equally delicious. Most of them are prepared from frozen king crab although it actually will achieve its maximum taste when prepared from the live crab.
“If prepared from live, it will taste a lot sweeter and juicier. It will also have better texture,” said owner of The Holy Crab Albert Wijaya, one of restaurants that serve fresh king crab.
King crab actually has long shell life if frozen, up to one year. It will frost all the juice in the meat. When thawed, the juice will melt from the meat. Thus, it results in drier texture.
However, king crabs are seasonal ingredients. They will have good meat consistency when caught on winter.
“In Indonesia, November to March is the best months to enjoy king crab as we can enjoy it straight after they were imported,” said Albert.
Espen Gryt, Founder and Chef of Elvebredden Catering Norway showed how to kill live king crab. The way to kill it is actually almost the same with killing usual crab, but you need to be very careful as the crab has big claws that can easily injure your finger.
To do this, you need to use a big and sharp knife. Find the head and cut between the shift eyes with sharp knife. Now that it has been killed, king crab is ready to prepare.
“Due to the big size, we can cut it into many pieces. One king crab can be served for 5 persons,” said Albert.
To prepare a king crab, depart the king crab legs and claws. These are the best-selling part of this crab. Since it has very long claws, it can be cut again to several pieces to make it easier to serve.
After that, slide in the knife between the crab carapace (shell cap) and the body. To remove the carapace, twist the knife inside the crab until it is cracked and opened. Use both your hands to tear the carapace from the body and use the knife to assist you as it is quite hard. Discard the brown gill you will find on the crab. After that, cut the crab’s body and now it is ready to be cooked.
There are so many ways to cook king crab. It can be steamed, boiled, grilled, fried, or baked. The most important thing to do is not to overcook it. Season the crab properly and you will have the most luxurious seafood you will ever tasted.
Tags: king crab, preparing king crab, the holy crab, elvebredden catering