Tackling a whole king crab

[mtigges]

Agreed that steaming is the ideal way...but for the home cook that would perhaps be even harder to accomplish than boiling - though you could add a mere couple of inches of water to a huge pot and it would be a virtual steamer right there.

That's all I meant, just an inch or two of water and throw in your prey.

[budrichard]

Whole live king crab is usually available during the season in Chicago Chinatown. I've dispatched many of them.

You don't need to freeze them as they are not as lively usually as the smaller crabs. You do need a large pot of at least 20 qts for an average king crab. You can steam or boil, it really doesn't matter. When cooked, remove and chill in ice water. Contrary to one Post, the body contains a substantial amount of meat.

You disassemble the body like any other crab except its larger. Pull off the top carapace and remove the gills and pick out all the white meat from all the openings. Legs are handled with scissors or any way you want but try to remove the leg meat in whole pieces(looks better).

They are expensive live but very very good!-Dick