Alaskan king crab shell

[Mike Buckley]

This is part of my project to photograph food in a context that we don't normally see or at least don't notice.

My wife and I had a special dinner this evening of Alaskan king crab leg. The crab is already cooked when I buy it, so the shell is already the color as shown. These are the pieces of a single leg about 2 feet (0.6 meters) long of course with the meat removed. The meat from this one leg amply fed both of us.

Please click the image to display it at a larger size.

Setup
The front area of the tabletop is glossy black acrylic and the rear area is a piece of foam core wrapped in black velvet and placed under the rear pieces of shell to raise them just a little. A medium continuous-light lamp is on the rear left and a small continuous-light lamp is on the front right.

[NorthernFocus]

That's a sad sight, Mike. Empty shell with the meat already eaten

Your techs are incredible in this shot.

Alaska airlines has a small fleet of planes called "combis", short for combination passenger/freight. They use them to service the smaller towns/villages in rural Alaska. This time of year, during and shortly after crab season, the planes smell like processed king crab. Not as pleasant to smell as they are to eat. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the necessary processing, what we get up here is frozen the same as what you all get down there. And the market is so good for the crab that we pay the same price that you folks do. So it's just as much of a treat to us as it is to you. Good stuff but we rarely partake.

[Shadowman]

Nicely captured.

[Dave A]

The sharp detail at full size is amazing. I'm allergic to shellfish and crustaceans but I bet it was good eats.

Dave

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks, everyone!

Dan: Do you know the method used to cook the crab before freezing it? The reason I ask is that I've never noticed the black tones on the tip of this leg that seems to indicate it was charred by a flame. I'm surprised to learn from you that even in Alaska the crab is cooked before freezing it.

When I was a child living in southern Florida, my uncle was also stationed there in the Air Force. When a plane from his base flew to Alaska, which was maybe once or twice a year, the crew would take orders for frozen Alaskan king crab. It was a very special treat when my aunt would cook it because the crab legs were never in the stores then as now. Though it's readily available in our area, it's very expensive. So, it's still a food I reserve for special occasions. I use my aunt's recipe with only a couple slight modifications. She had never written it down but taught it to me at my insistence when she visited me decades later. She is deceased now, so every time we have this meal it begins with a toast to the memory of my aunt who was like a second mother to me.

[NorthernFocus]

...Dan: Do you know the method used to cook the crab before freezing it? The reason I ask is that I've never noticed the black tones on the tip of this leg that seems to indicate it was charred by a flame. I'm surprised to learn from you that even in Alaska the crab is cooked before freezing it....

The crabs are steamed then frozen. They spoil extremely fast and being a long way from market it is the only practical way to deal with them. I suspect the market up here isn't large enough to warrant any sort of special handling. We're only 700k people in the entire state. The black tips on the legs is not uncommon. Not sure if it is specific to a particular species, indicative of the crab near molting, or what.

There are several different species of crab that are generically marketed as "king crab". The largest are blues followed by reds. More abundant and smaller are golden/snow and the smallest are opillio(sp?) aka opies. Blues and reds are seldom differentiated in restaurants etc. It is fairly common for snow crab/golden king crab to be advertised. I'm not sure how opies are marketed as they are much smaller.

[Mike Buckley]

Very interesting, Dan. Thanks for the helpful information!

[Adzman808]

Why did I click on this damn it?

I'm nearly reduced to tears....

Are you a veggie Adam?

Nope, just at this exact moment in time, hungry

Are these the same as the crabs from the show 'deadliest catch'?

It's an amazing capture, full of detail, micro contrast and the lighting is superb

[Mike Buckley]

Thank you, Adam!