Level up dinner time with friends and family with this seafood delight you know you can never get enough of. You don’t even have to go to a great restaurant because you can make it at home yourself by buying from local grocery stores or seafood markets.
Crab legs are an American favorite that can be cooked in various ways—baking, boiling, roasting, deep frying, or steaming. Pair it with a lemon garlic butter sauce and you’d be taking yourself into a whole new realm of culinary experiences.
You can also serve stone crab claws for a big crowd.
These are great to be served for a crowd of people since it’s an easy-to-make seafood delicacy that’s portable for parties and celebratory dinners.
When you’re planning for a special occasion and you can’t decide how many crab legs per person you should serve, just remember this tip: half a pound per person for casual seafood eaters and two pounds per person for seafood enthusiasts if you are serving them alone.
What Is The Ideal Crab Legs Serving Size Per Person
Make it your personal mission to find out the preferences of your guests beforehand so that you won’t prepare too much or too little.
Consider the questions: How many guests will there be at the party? Do they eat seafood? If so, how many of them particularly love it, and how many don’t? Because it can make a big difference in. how many crab legs will be eaten by each person.
For those who are just casual eaters, those who would probably take a bite or two, or those who won’t eat at all—make it up to them by providing a lot of other delectable dishes and/or appetizers for them to choose from.
The general rule is to give half a pound of crab legs for those who aren’t enthusiastic about eating them and two pounds for seafood lovers. That way, you’d be playing it safe and there would be enough for everybody.
How Many Crab Legs Servings Per Person
Each crab leg has about 50% total meat, so that means you should purchase about 1 to 4 pounds of crab legs for one person. This way, once the crab legs are fully cooked to perfection, you get 0.5 to 2 pounds of total crab meat.
For more of the calculated servings per person, refer to the table of crab leg quantities per person below:
| People | Amount of Crab Legs in Pounds |
| 1 | 0.5 – 2 |
| 2 | 1 – 4 |
| 5 | 2.5 – 10 |
| 10 | 5 – 20 |
| 15 | 7.5 – 30 |
| 20 | 10 – 40 |
| 50 | 25–100 |
Will People Need Seconds
The amount of servings of crab legs per person is ample enough since the meat is rich and juicy. However, there will be inevitable situations where the particular guest has a big appetite. In any case, it’s not advisable to cook more crab legs than the recommended amount of servings.
Seafood needs to be cooled prior to eating and once it’s time for the meal to be served, it has to be eaten quickly since it is highly perishable. Moreover, save yourself every last penny since crab legs are expensive, ranging from $10 to $40 per pound depending on the variety and preparation.
How Much Crab Legs For Different Events And Occasions
It all boils down to the number of people in those events and how many are willing to eat crab legs.
For example, Christmas and Thanksgiving dinners tend to be intimate, with only immediate family members, other close relatives, and some friends invited. Overall, it would be about 10 to 15 people only. With that, you can prepare 5 to 30 pounds of crab legs.
For bigger parties, weddings, and big celebratory dinners, there would be about 20 to 50 people. 100 pounds of crab legs sounds too many so you better make sure you count the seafood and non-seafood eaters beforehand.Â
Do not forget crab cakes also can be served easily at a party.
What Are The Best Crab Legs To Eat
Despite the thousand crab species available, not all of them are edible either because they lack meat or they have dangerous neurotoxins that can be harmful to humans when consumed. The following is a list of awesome crab species with the best crab legs:
- Alaskan king crabs are a crowd-favorite since they’re the largest species with plenty of meat inside.
- Dungeness crabs have a more succulent meat that is sweet and tender to taste.
- Snow crabs are widely used in buffets and are rather easy to snap without using the help of any tools.
- Blue crabs are also particularly great since it’s easy to remove the meat from their legs.
- Stone crabs have black-tipped red claws which look rather fancy during its peak season.
What Ingredients Can You Put In Crab Legs
When boiling or steaming crab legs, you can add some lemon juice or rinds, salt, and pepper onto the pot before plunging in the crab legs. You can also use the seasoning after the crab legs are completely boiled or steamed.
When you feel like baking or grilling the crab legs, glaze the crab legs with some butter or olive oil and then season with whatever you prefer—herbs, spices, or even the classic Old Bay seasoning. If you want an Asian twist, use soy sauce, cilantro, and sesame oil.
Regardless of how you cook the crab legs, it’s always a fun idea to add melted butter for that oozing sweetness, parsley, garlic, or a squeeze or two of lemon juice. If you want to kick up the spice levels, use cajun seasoning or chili powder.
What To Serve With Crab Legs
There are a variety of companions you can use to serve with crab legs. For sauces, you can try brandy mayonnaise, a chive emulsion (made up of chives, canola oil, and olive oil), clarified butter with chile and garlic, diablo sauce, tartar sauce (with parsley, capers, and shallots), and ponzu sauce.
If you prefer crab legs with a glass of wine, try using white wine such as chardonnay, riesling, chablis, and pinot-gris. For sparkling wine, you can try champagne and prosecco. For cocktail enthusiasts, you can try bloody mary, mojito, and Saison.
As for the best side dishes to serve with crab legs are baked, roasted, fried, or mashed potatoes, classic corn on the cob or cornbread, creamy mac and cheese, and salads (preferably Garden), steamed artichokes with butter, and roasted vegetables.
How Many Crab Legs for 4 Adults
Serve between 2-4 pounds
Is 2 pounds of crab legs alot
No, it really only will serve 1 to 2 guests
How Many Pounds of Snow Crab Legs Do You Need per Person
A pound of snow crab legs contains about 3/4 cup of meat. That means that you would need to serve 4 people 1/2 pound each of snow crab legs.