VAAG King Crab Prime Loin

Name: VAAG King Crab Loin | Whole Raw Cut | FINE & WILD
Brand: ALBION FINE FOODS
SKU: CRABVAAGPARA140
Price: 65.0 GBP
Availability: InStock

£65.00

140g± 200g± 250g±

Variant

Finnmark, Norway / Wild Caught

The whole intact upper-leg muscle of the king crab — the rarest and most prized cut on the carcass, hand-shelled raw by VAAG Seafood. The king crab equivalent of a fish loin: clean grain, firm texture, presented to be cooked whole and served as a centrepiece. Slow-poach in butter or grill over hot coals on a konro

VAAG King Crab Prime Loin

£65.00

Wild Norwegian red king crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus) loin — the long, intact upper-leg muscle, hand-shelled raw and super-frozen at –50°C by VAAG Seafood at their fishery in Henningsvær, Lofoten. This is the prime cut on the king crab, and the rarest. It is the single largest, most uniform piece of meat on the carcass, with the cleanest grain and the firmest, most prized texture — the king crab equivalent of a fish loin or a beef tenderloin. Where the other VAAG king crab products are picked, mixed or piece-form meat for cooking applications, the loin is whole, intact and presented to be served as a centrepiece cut.

The shell work is done using high-pressure processing — a cold technology, unique to VAAG in Scandinavia, that uses extreme pressure to separate meat from shell without heat or chemicals, leaving the raw flesh whole and undamaged. The result is something almost no other producer in the world delivers: an intact king crab loin, raw, ready to cook, with no shell, no cartilage and no compromise on the integrity of the meat. The crab is sourced from the cold pristine waters around Finnmark, on the Norwegian coast near the North Cape, and flash-frozen at –50°C the same day it leaves the water.

This is the king crab to reach for when the crab is the centrepiece of the plate. Slow-poached in butter and served sliced. Skewered and grilled over hot coals on a konro or binchotan grill, where the high direct heat caramelises the surface while the meat stays sweet and tender within. Steamed gently and served with brown butter and lemon as the entire dish. The flavour is the cleanest expression of king crab in the entire range — sweet, mild, with a long delicate finish — and the texture is what justifies the price.

Producer: VAAG Seafood, Henningsvær, Lofoten, Norway · Wild-caught from Finnmark, Norway (FAO Area 27) Species: Red king crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus)

Catch method: Pot, Norwegian coastal fleet

Cut: Whole intact upper-leg loin

Processing: Raw-shelled by HPP (high-pressure processing), vacuum-packed, super-frozen at –50°C

Ingredients: Red king crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus). No additives.

Storage: Keep frozen at –18°C or below until the best-before date. Defrost in the fridge overnight. Once defrosted, refrigerate at 0–4°C and use within 4 days. Do not refreeze.

Allergens: Crustaceans

Remove from the packaging and place on kitchen paper on a plate in the fridge overnight. The meat will be ready to use the following day. Pat thoroughly dry before cooking. Once defrosted, refrigerate at 0–4°C and use within 4 days. Do not refreeze.

The loin is a centrepiece cut and asks for centrepiece cooking. The brief is high-quality direct heat or low-and-slow gentle heat — not the residual cooking we'd use for picked meat. The structure of the loin holds up to cooking that the more fragile picked meat cannot.

Slow butter-poach (the elegant method):
Whisk 200g cold butter, piece by piece, into 200ml of gently simmering water to form an emulsion. Hold the temperature at 60–65°C — the liquid should barely tremble and never boil. Slide the loin in gently and poach for 6–8 minutes until just warmed through and opaque, turning once halfway. The meat stays extraordinarily tender cooked this way and the buttery liquid becomes the sauce. Lift out, slice across the grain into 1.5cm pieces, and serve on warmed plates with the poaching butter spooned over, a squeeze of lemon and a few flakes of sea salt.

Konro / binchotan grill (the dramatic method):
This is where the loin really sings. Skewer the defrosted loin lengthways on a metal or pre-soaked bamboo skewer to keep it straight on the grill. Brush with a thin layer of melted butter or a light neutral oil and season with sea salt only — no pepper, no marinade, nothing else. Grill over high direct heat from glowing binchotan or hot lump charcoal for 60–90 seconds per side, turning to colour all surfaces evenly. The high direct heat caramelises the natural sugars in the meat while the centre remains just opaque and tender. Lift off the grill, rest for 30 seconds, slice across the grain and serve immediately. A wedge of lemon or yuzu, sea salt, nothing more.

Gentle steam (the clean method):
Place the loin in a steamer basket or colander set over simmering salted water. Cover and steam for 4–5 minutes until just opaque through. Lift out, rest for 30 seconds, slice across the grain into 1.5cm pieces and serve with brown butter, lemon, and a few capers — the entire dish.

À la nage (the classical method):
Bring 300ml of lightly salted water to a simmer with the zest of half a lemon, a few pink peppercorns, a bay leaf, half a peeled shallot, fennel fronds and a splash of dry white wine. Simmer for 10 minutes to infuse, then strain. Reduce the heat to very low, slide the loin into the broth and poach gently for 5–6 minutes until just warmed through. Serve in the broth with a few finely diced vegetables for colour, or lift out and serve with the broth alongside as a sauce.

The mistake to avoid:
Cooking the loin in fierce, dry high heat for too long, or boiling it. The point of this cut is that it stays intact and tender in the centre. Treat it as you would a piece of fish loin or a fillet steak — gentle confidence, not aggression.

Carving:
Always slice across the grain, never with it. Across-the-grain cuts give you the clean, layered eating texture that defines properly cooked king crab loin. With-the-grain cuts give you something stringy.

Order Cut-Off Times & Delivery Date Selection

Orders placed before 2 PM (Monday to Friday) are dispatched the same day, unless you select a future delivery date at checkout.

Our Delivery Service

We use reliable third-party express courier services and high-quality insulated packaging. While our couriers are generally excellent, occasional delays can happen. We pack everything to stay fresh, even if transit takes a little longer.

Time-Sensitive & Event Orders

Can we guarantee delivery on a specific day? Unfortunately not - we rely on third-party couriers and can't control their schedules. All items leave us in perfect condition with good use-by dates, but final timing depends on the courier.

If your order is for a specific event, let us know in the notes section at checkout. We can often dispatch a day earlier to give you the best chance of timely arrival.

DELIVERY Changes After Dispatch

Once dispatched, your package is with the courier and we're unable to redirect it or change delivery details.

Saturday Delivery

Saturday delivery is available, though please note our couriers don't operate phone support at weekends and our office is closed. For event-critical orders, a weekday delivery gives us more flexibility to help if any issues arise.

Full delivery details and shipping rates: here

Description

Wild Norwegian red king crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus) loin — the long, intact upper-leg muscle, hand-shelled raw and super-frozen at –50°C by VAAG Seafood at their fishery in Henningsvær, Lofoten. This is the prime cut on the king crab, and the rarest. It is the single largest, most uniform piece of meat on the carcass, with the cleanest grain and the firmest, most prized texture — the king crab equivalent of a fish loin or a beef tenderloin. Where the other VAAG king crab products are picked, mixed or piece-form meat for cooking applications, the loin is whole, intact and presented to be served as a centrepiece cut.

The shell work is done using high-pressure processing — a cold technology, unique to VAAG in Scandinavia, that uses extreme pressure to separate meat from shell without heat or chemicals, leaving the raw flesh whole and undamaged. The result is something almost no other producer in the world delivers: an intact king crab loin, raw, ready to cook, with no shell, no cartilage and no compromise on the integrity of the meat. The crab is sourced from the cold pristine waters around Finnmark, on the Norwegian coast near the North Cape, and flash-frozen at –50°C the same day it leaves the water.

This is the king crab to reach for when the crab is the centrepiece of the plate. Slow-poached in butter and served sliced. Skewered and grilled over hot coals on a konro or binchotan grill, where the high direct heat caramelises the surface while the meat stays sweet and tender within. Steamed gently and served with brown butter and lemon as the entire dish. The flavour is the cleanest expression of king crab in the entire range — sweet, mild, with a long delicate finish — and the texture is what justifies the price.