How to choose Good Quality Snow Crab (Opillio and Bairdi Crab) – Part 1 - Seafood Market Tips and Guide
Why I know how to choose quality Snow Crab – Personal Story
I’ve learned how to select quality snow crabs after a very unpleasant experience at a local seafood market. Well, at least I’ve been able to sort out many good quality snow crabs for my family and friends.
My father took our family to a local seafood market as he wanted to celebrate a good day. However, as the local restaurant started to scale the snow crab, and started to talk with my father, I could sense the puzzled face of my father. My father looked back at us anxiously but pretended as if nothing happened.
I call my father a jellyfish, because he can’t hide his feelings like a crystal-clear jellyfish. We all knew that my father didn’t want to ruin our day so he knew that he was being ripped off but just paid for the whole dish. Even worse, the restaurant didn’t properly cook the snow crab without knowing our family is very sensitive in taste and odor.
All our family members knew that we were ripped off but we all didn’t complain and just made a smile. It was heartbreaking and we had to comfort my dad as he was really upset because he was excited to make us happy.
Many would agree with such an experience and I hope no one has ever have to feel miserable on a good day especially with their beloved.
Why choosing quality snow crab is important in South Korea
Although Western countries consume mostly the legs of snow crabs, in Asian countries like South Korea, the intestines of the snow crab is a delicacy.
I thought it was disgusting at first but the snow crab intestines have sweet, rich crab flavor that cannot be experienced in any other kind of seafood.
The quality of the intestines and the crab meat yield of the legs and body largely vary depending on the quality of snow crabs.
Snow crabs are not cheap and mostly consumed on special occasions. Thus, it is important to choose quality snow crabs so you won’t ruin your day.
How to choose the best quality snow crabs in seafood markets & Example of Assessment in terms of qualtiy and price
A comprehensive Assessment of all the criteria below is required. Also, understanding and abiding by these criteria increase the chances of selecting good qualtiy snow crabs but there are always exceptions.
Also, you could use the criteria below to purchase snow crab at a lower price while satisfying your demands. Personally, I don't purchase the highest premium quality snow crabs but I rather aim for snow crabs that don’t have much market value but great meat and intestine yield.
In South Korea, the best quality snow crabs are called A grade in general while those that have lower market value for reasons such as losing legs or less active are referred as B grades.
I aim for good quality B grades because they are much cheaper without many defects. Below is an example of a snow crab that I’ve chosen based on a comprehensive analysis.
The decisive factor based on the comprehensive analysis below was the price. The 860 gram snow crab cost 32,000 KRW which was decent as snow crab auction value was the highest as it was the end of the year holiday season.
Factors for Good Quality - Example
The body and legs are vivid and have pinkish color
Snow crab shell on the back was hard
Snow Crab has a residues around its mouth
There were some eggs and attached creatures on the shell
Intestine amount was visible on the belly
Factors for lower Quality - Example
The snow crab lost a leg
The joints and body of the snow crab aren’t plump or fat.
The snow crab survival state wasn’t good and was about to die. It didn’t hold its leg straight when gripped upside down. It still survived for additional 7 hours before cooked.
Quality Snow crab Selection 1. Tips for choosing snow crabs with Origin of South Korea
In South Korea, 박달대게(bakdal daegae) that means snow crab that are hard as a birch tree in folk lore is considered the most premium snow crab.
The National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives of South Korea or Suhyup(수협) strictly controls 박달대게 bakdal daegae
Suhyup sell quality assured bakdal daegae where they would even refund if the crabmeat yield is less than 90%. If purchasing bakdal daegae, it is most safe to utilize Suhyup market although price is higher.
The quality of snow crabs caught in South Korea depends on the depths where the snow crabs are caught. For South Korea origin Snow crabs, those caught in deeper waters have higher quality than those fished in shallow depths because the sea around South Korea is warmer compared with Russia and the Bearing Sea.
The water of South Korea is the end limit of the snow crab habitats. Uljin, Pohang, Young duk are the most notable fishing grounds of snow crabs in Korea.
Quality Snow crab Selection 2. Choosing imported snow crabs depending on their Origins - Russia, Bearing, Atlantic etc – Subjective and may vary per person
Many snow crabs imported from different regions such as Magadan, West Sahalin, East Sahalin Primorsky from Russia, Bearing Sea and the Atlantic Ocean access the market in South Korea.
There are debates on which snow crabs have the best quality and experts have different opinions on which origin has the best quality snow crab.
Knowing and talking of these origins of snow crabs could alert the merchants that you’re dealing with so they wouldn’t attempt to rip you off.
Personally, the quality of each individual snow crab is much more important than determining the origin of the snow crab as snow crab experts have different opinions on which origin of snow crabs are the best.
Expert merchants also confuse that Bairdi crabs are crabs with different origins but technically this is a different species with the general snow crab(opillio crab). Opillio crab and Bairdi crab have their own pros and cons.
Quality Snow crab Selection 3. The snow crab shell must not be soft nor mushy. Snow Crabs with soft shells have a higher chance of lower quality in meat yield and intestine quality.
*One exception is a crab that is about to shed its shell. Crabs imminent of shedding their shell is actually the prime quality snow crab
A soft or mush shell may indicate that the snow crab has been losing meat yield as the crab meat can’t push the shell off. It could also indicate that it hasn’t been long since the crab has shed its shell.
This would mean that there isn’t meat full under the shell while the larger shell empty with meat only increased the weight of the snow crab.
However, a snow crab that was caught right before it was about to shed have a 3~5 times higher value because this snow crab has energy stored for the shedding process and has reached its maximum size.
Snow crab yield is the highest and quality of intestines are also the best for such snow crabs. These are called Hot gae( 홋게)in South Korea.(It sounds kind of odd I know)
Quality Snow crab Selection 4. Snow Crabs with a mouth that is black because of residues have a higher chance of better quality
Snow crabs have a cover on their mouth so you have to open this cover. Snow crabs that were freshly caught or had plenty of food have the residues left on their mouth so they appear black.
If the snow crabs don’t have black residues on their mouth, they might have spent a substantial time starving or they didn’t feed well.
Quality Snow crab Selection 5. The legs or the body of the snow crabs must not be clear.
If the snow crab meat yield is low, the snow crab body and legs are literally empty so they appear clear.
Quality Snow crab Selection 6. Snow crabs that are reddish, pink around the joints, legs and the body have a higher chance of better quality.
Snow crabs that are pale white have a higher chance of lower quality.
In general, the more vivid the colors are, the quality of the crustaceans are better. Also, a more vivid and stronger color of a snow crab and crustaceans usually indicate they’ve lived in deeper depths.
The colors of snow crabs also fade depending on their survivability so crabs that are pale white have a higher chance of being lower quality.
Quality Snow crab Selection 7. Snow Crabs with plump and thick joints at the legs and the body with pink or reddish color have a high chance of crab meat yield.
Check the snow crab joints and especially avoid snow crabs that have wrinkles on their joints
Literally this is one of the easiest ways to determine a low-quality snow crab. Snow crabs that have wrinkles on their joints are certainly low quality so avoid these.
Good quality snow crab with good crab meat yield is most visible on the joints of the legs and body. These joints appear plump red or pinkish and fat literally because the meat is pushing them out.