Which Crab Has The Most Meat? A Quick Comparison

If you’ve ever bought or thought about buying crab meat, I’m sure you’ve wondered how much crab meat you were actually buying. The thought crossed my mind the other day while browsing snow crab clusters. I was curious if I was actually buying the most crab meat possible for the hefty price tag.

So, I did some research to tackle the question: Which crab contains the most actual crab meat?

The Colossal Red King Crab has the highest meat-to-shell ratio, making it the meatiest crab species on the market. A pound of king crab legs contains 60% to 75% of pure crab meat, which is double the amount of meat found in Snow and Dungeness Crabs.

I looked at scientific studies, consumer reviews, and my own past experience to answer the question. What I found is pretty straightforward. The Colossal Red King Crab contains the most meat, followed by the Snow crab, Dungeness crab, and Blue Crab in that order.

Type of Crab	Meat Yield for 3 lbs of Crab	Meat-to-shell Ratio
Colossal Red King Crab	1.8 to 2.25 lbs	60% to 75%
Snow Crab	0.9 to 1 lb	30% to 35%
Dungeness Crab	0.6 to 0.75 lbs	13% to 30%
Blue Crab	0.3 to 0.5 lbs	10% to 15%

However, this doesn’t mean you should only buy red king crabs. Seasonality has a lot to do with when crabs contain the most meat, taste the freshest, and are fairly priced. It’s usually better to go with the crab that’s in season rather than out of season for better value and taste.

I’ll go over when it’s best to buy each crab, how much meat you’re going to get in each crab, and a few more interesting numbers I found in my research. Hopefully, this is helpful for the next time you buy some crab meat.

How Much Meat is in King Crab Legs?

The Colossal Red King Crab, a popular delicacy across the country, takes the cake for the highest meat to shell ratio for their large legs.

60% to 75% of the king crab legs you purchase is pure crab meat, depending on the crab. If you buy three pounds of king crab legs, expect to receive between 1.8 to 2.25 lbs of delicious king crab meat.

Like other crabs on this list, the meat content of each king crab depends entirely on whether or not it is in its peak season. This is usually before the crab has molted, which means it’s at its heaviest (Source).

King Crabs contain the most meat when purchased from October through February. During this time of year, king crabs are at their heaviest while they prepare to molt. In other words, buy king crab legs during the winter months for the meatiest crab legs.

When you buy King Crabs, you’re purchasing only their legs. Their body has meat, but it’s much less than its legs. A study done by Guy C. Powell and the Division of Biological Research in Kodak Alaska found that the meat recovered from an entire king crab is around 36.5%. This alone still out-performs Blue and Dungeness crabs, which include body meat in their meat-to-shell ratio.

How Much Meat is in a Snow Crab Cluster?

Snow crabs are sold in clusters, which contain four walking legs and a claw arm. They’re found in the same waters as king crabs but have thinner legs, which means they yield less meat.

30% to 35% of a snow crab cluster is pure crab meat, depending on the crab. If you buy three pounds of snow crab clusters, expect about 1 pound of pure crab meat. This is less than its cousin the king crab, but still substantially more meat than a Dungeness or Blue Crab.

This depends on a few factors including the time of year and the packaging of your snow crabs.

The snow crab season starts in around late October and ends around January, depending on the weather each year. For the freshest crabs, buy your snow crabs in the winter. This is when the snow crabs are at their highest population, freshest, and meatiest.

One thing to look out for is how much ice is included in the weight of your crabs. When snow leg legs are packaged and sold online or let on display at a grocery store, they are frozen and have an unfair amount of water weight. This can easily throw off the meat-to-shell ratio.

Because of this, the meat percentage of a snow crab can easily vary. Don’t expect substantially less meat than the 30% mentioned before. I’ve heard of several people finding 40% meat yields of their snow crab legs.

Edit: June 29, 2020.

I was doing some research for another article and found a 1997 study by Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans. They compared the meat content of snow crabs before and after they molt. They found that crabs had an average 35.6% meat yield, with a 40.6% meat yield on the high end.

Either way, snow crabs are a cheaper alternative to King Crab Legs and contain a lot more meat than Dungeness and Blue crabs. All in all, a great option for your dinner table.

How Much Meat is in a Dungeness Crab?

The Dungeness Crab lives along the coast in the chilly, muddy waters from Alaska to Santa Barbara. It’s a West Coast delicacy that everyone should try at some point in their lives.

The average Dungeness crab weighs 2 pounds, which contains an average of 1/2 pound of pure crab meat. This makes the Dungeness crab one of the most meat-dense crabs on the market.

According to a study by Psmfc.org, a Dungeness crab contains between 13% to 30% of meat content, depending on the time of year, where the crab was caught, and how recently the crab has molted.

For example, if you were to buy 3 pounds of Dungeness crabs from the market, or two fairly-large Dungeness crabs, expect about one pound of pure crab meat. This can easily feed two people when paired with side dishes.

When a Dungeness crab is out of season or caught during a time of year when the crab has recently molted, it will be much lighter and contain far less meat. You want to purchase Dungeness crabs in the winter and early spring months when they are in season and at their highest population.

How Much Meat is In a Blue Crab?

Being such a small crustacean compared to the monster-like crabs on the West Coast, the blue crab is down on our list of crab meat. Big surprise!

A study by Donald E. Sweat named Preparing Blue Crab: A Seafood Delicacy found that an experienced crab picker will pick around 2 and 1/4 ounces of meat from each pound of blue crabs. This is about a 14% yield, which is far less compared to the other crabs on this list.

For example, The average blue crab weighs 1/3 pounds, depending on the time of year and stage of their molt. A dozen #1 blue crabs will weight about 4 lbs, which will give you approximately 1/2 pound of pure blue crab meat.

A single #1-sized blue crab will contain 1 to 2 ounces of blue crab meat when cleaned by an experienced crab picker. This means you will need at least 16 blue crabs for a single pound of crab meat, but expect to need more blue crabs.

There’s a reason why people buy blue crabs by the bushel on the East Coast. One bushel of #1 and #2 blue crabs contains about 40 lbs of blue crabs, which is approximately 6 pounds of pure crab meat. If you want a filling meal, especially for several people, you need to buy a considerable amount of blue crabs.

Now, this study was an average estimation, taking into account blue crabs varying in size. Crabs caught later in the season (late fall) will be heavier and meatier compared to recently-molted crabs in the early season (early summer). If you want the meatiest crabs for the dollar, buy blue crabs at the end of summer.

Need help deciding which Crabs to buy?