How Many Crabs in a Bushel and More Seafood Ordering Guidelines (2024)

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.


Size

Crab Dimensions

Approximate Crabs in a Bushel

Dozens in a Bushel

Standard

5-5.5 inches

84 crabs

7 dozen

Large

5.5-6 inches

72 crabs

6 dozen

Jumbo

6-6.75 inches

60 crabs

5 dozen

Colossal

6.75 inches or larger

48 crabs

4 dozen

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 co*cktail 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.


If you have additional questions on ordering seafood, contact Crab Dynasty customer service by email sales@crabdynasty.com. Our experienced representatives can ensure you order the right amount of seafood regardless of how big your event is.

How Many Crabs in a Bushel and More Seafood Ordering Guidelines (2024)

FAQs

How Many Crabs in a Bushel and More Seafood Ordering Guidelines? ›

The number of crabs in a bushel varies depending on the size of crabs. We sell both full and half bushels in small, medium and large. A small full bushel has 7 dozen, medium full bushel has 6 dozen and a full bushel of large has 5 dozen crabs.

How many crabs you get in a bushel? ›

The number of crabs in a bushel varies depending on the size of crabs. We sell both full and half bushels in small, medium and large. A small full bushel has 7 dozen, medium full bushel has 6 dozen and a full bushel of large has 5 dozen crabs.

How many crabs should I order? ›

Depending on how experienced, hungry and other food being served, we normally say plan for 6-8 crabs per person on average and more for heavy eaters.

How many people will a bushel of crabs feed? ›

A bushel of large crabs will feed 8-10 people.

How many pounds of crab meat can you get out of a bushel of crabs? ›

Obviously if you are picking a bushel of larger crabs, you'll get more meat because it is far easier to get it all out. The smaller crabs have more nooks and crannies to get into which can make it a little bit harder. In general a bushel picked by non professionals will yield about 3 pounds of crabmeat.

How many people does a 1 2 bushel of crabs feed? ›

1/2 Bushels Feed Approximately 5 people. Bushels Feed Approximately 10 people. Blue Crab Trading exclusively takes online orders for all quantities and genders.

What is the best size of crabs to eat? ›

The #1 Male crab, also known as a “Jimmy”, are typically the most sought after type of crab. They typically range from 5 ½ – 6 ¼ inches.

How many crabs can the average person eat? ›

Most people can eat 4–6 crabs.

How much crab is good for 2 people? ›

As a rule of thumb, if you have crab lovers we recommend about 1 1/2 pounds per person. If you have some big eaters you might want to go with 2 pounds per person.

How many dozens of crabs come in a bushel? ›

A bushel of crabs refers to the wooden basket-like container that crabbers use to store crabs after they catch them. 1 bushel of crabs will typically contain 5.5 dozens of large crabs and 6-7 dozens of small-medium crabs.

How many bushels of crab for 50 people? ›

If you are just serving crabs, a good rule of thumb is about 8-12 crabs per person. If you are serving other food, we estimate about a 1/2 dozen crabs per person. To put it in short, a bushel of large crabs will feed approx. 8 people.

How much does a bushel of crabs cost in Maryland? ›

Blue Crabs are our Specialty!
Maryland Blue CrabsNow
Standard Male Hard Crabs Our Standard male hard crabs measure 5" to 5½".Bushel Approx. 7 Dozen$249.99
Large Female Hard Crabs Our large female crabs measure 6" to 6½".Dozen$64.99
Half Bushel 2½ to 3 Dozen$134.99
Bushel 5 to 6 Dozen$249.99
35 more rows

What is the difference between #1 and #2 crabs? ›

All males have a long, thin apron on the bottom of their shell, commonly known as the “Washington Monument.” They also have blue-tipped claws. A #1 Jimmy is a male blue crab that has filled out its shell and has enough meat to be caught and sold for steaming. A #2 Jimmy crab is not as big as a #1.

How much crab is enough for 1 person? ›

Make sure you have enough crab legs

Our general recommendation is between one and two pounds per person. One pound per person should suffice if you have guests with mild appetites and you serving sides with your crab legs.

How many #1 blue crabs are in a bushel? ›

"Typically, a bushel of #1 crabs will contain about 60 – 70 crabs (enough to feed about 10 – 12 people).

Is a 5 gallon bucket a bushel? ›

Technically, a bushel is a unit of volume equal to about 9.3 gallons. But a bushel, practically, in the way it's used by the grain industry today, is some standard amount of weight that each type of grain "should" weigh if it was of a certain quality, moisture and density and poured into a 9.3-gallon container.

How much meat do you get from 1 crab? ›

Expect to yield about a ½ pound of picked meat from a two-pound crab.

How much is enough crab for one person? ›

Make sure you have enough crab legs

Our general recommendation is between one and two pounds per person. One pound per person should suffice if you have guests with mild appetites and you serving sides with your crab legs.

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