The largest of the commercially harvested crabs, king crabs are characterized by spiny shells and long, spidery legs. The best meat is the merus, which comes from the upper section of the walking leg. The crabs grow to 6 feet, from leg tip to leg tip, and from 4 to 10 pounds.
Shell color varies according to harvest location.
Red is most marketable, primarily because of size, followed by blue and then brown. King crabs often march in herds across vast expanses of these plains. They are caught in large, wire-mesh traps that measure 7 x 7 x 10 feet. Product Profile King crab is sweet, moist and rich. It's a bit firmer than Dungeness crab meat.