How to Order the Right Amount of Seafood

Any good host or party planner knows that the worst-case scenario is not having enough food at your event. Avoid this dilemma by ordering the right amount of seafood for a family or a crowd from Crab Dynasty. Follow our simple guidelines to determine how many crabs to order for a crab boil, plus how many pounds of shrimp and scallops you should order per person. We’re here to make sure no one leaves your table hungry.

How Many Crabs are in a Bushel?

The number of crabs in a bushel depends on the size of the crabs. A bushel refers to the wooden basket-like container we store crabs in after we catch them. This size chart will help you determine how many crabs are in a bushel.

Crab Dynasty sells live blue crabs by the dozen, two dozen, half a bushel, or bushel. Generally, a bushel of large-sized crabs can feed about eight people. If you serve steamed crabs with other food, plan for about six crabs per person. If crabs are your main dish, order eight to a dozen crabs per person.

How Many Crab Legs Should You Order Per Person?

Crab Dynasty sells snow crab legs and Alaskan king crab legs by the pound. As a rule of thumb for ordering, we recommend 1.5 to two pounds of crab per person. 

We sell snow crab legs in medium, large, jumbo, and colossal sizes and quantities of three, six, and nine pounds. Medium snow crab legs yield 2-3 clusters per pound; large snow crab legs yield 2-3 clusters per 1.5 pounds; jumbo snow crab legs yield 3 clusters per 2 pounds, and colossal snow crab legs yield 3 clusters per 2.5 pounds. 

Crab Dynasty packages your order of Alaskan king crab legs in one, five, or ten-pound quantities. All you need to do is choose the size! A large king crab yields approximately two to three legs per pound. A jumbo king crab yields one to two legs per pound.

How Many Shrimp are in a Pound?

Depending on their size, the amount of shrimp per pound ranges from 10 to 30. Crab Dynasty offers Gulf shrimp in four sizes: colossal, jumbo, large, and medium. The rule of thumb for serving shrimp is to order one pound of raw and unpeeled shrimp per person. 

Colossal shrimp provide 10-15 shrimp per pound. The largest size we have available, colossal shrimp are perfect for show-stopping dishes and seafood towers. Jumbo shrimp (our most popular size) offers 16-20 shrimp per pound. Large shrimp are a popular choice for party platters; they are a good size for peeling and dipping in cocktail sauce. One pound of large shrimp translates to 21-25 shrimp. Medium shrimp are the smallest size we offer. Perfect for tasty pasta dishes and shrimp salad, there will be about 26-30 medium shrimp in a pound. 

How Many Scallops are in a Pound?

The number of scallops in a pound range from 10 or fewer to 30, depending on the size. Crab Dynasty ships scallops in one or five-pound quantities. Our large scallops will provide around 20-30 scallops per pound. There will be about 10-20 jumbo scallops and ten or fewer giant scallops per pound.

How many scallops per person you need depends on whether they are the main course or appetizer. For the main dish, use 4-6 scallops per person. For starters or appetizers, you can reduce the number to 2-3 scallops per person. 

How to Order the Right Amount of Seafood from Crab Dynasty

Crab Dynasty offers so much more in the way of seafood. Ordering the right amount of clams, crawfish, fried seafood, and other seafood products depends on how you prepare the seafood and for how many people. 

Our favorite way to use crawfish is in a classic cajun seafood boil. A good guideline for any crawfish boil is to order three pounds per person. Crab Dynasty offers steamed, flash-frozen crawfish in three or nine-pound quantities with 16 to 22 crawfish per pound. 

Discerning seafood lovers seek out Chesapeake Bay clams for their complex, savory flavors. We ship our clams live. They are versatile enough to be steamed, boiled, baked, fried, stuffed, or even added to your favorite clam chowder recipe. Plan on one to two dozen clams per person – we sell clams in quantities of one dozen, 50, or 100 counts. Order live clams for yourself or a large gathering with ease.