1. Welcome to VegasMessageBoard
    It appears you are visiting our community as a guest.
    In order to view full-size images, participate in discussions, vote in polls, etc, you will need to Log in or Register.

salty crab leg dilemna

Discussion in 'Restaurants & Buffets' started by chef, Mar 2, 2013.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. chef

    chef Resident Buffetologist

    Joined:
    Apr 20, 2002
    Messages:
    5,573
    Location:
    Illinois
    This has been gnawing at me for several years now and I'd like to get other people's thoughts on the matter.

    I fell in love with snow crab legs back in the late 1970s when working at a restaurant that offered them on its Friday nite seafood buffet. The sweetness of the meat endeared them to me.
    Eventually, I transitioned to a non-crab leg serving place and stopped eating them.
    Upon discovering Vegas buffets, my crab leg consumption picked up after a 20-year hiatus.
    Here's the problem though - when did crab legs go from succulent sweetness to tasting more like a salt lick?
    I'm talking all varieties, not just snow crab. And, the cold ones are worse than those served boiled or steamed. Still, all are way too salty.
    Lately, I've resorted to having the server bring me a cup of hot water (no tea please) so I can re-soak. That helps a little, but not enough.
    This week, I had warm king legs at the Bellagio and warm snow legs at the Aria. Same thing at both places - salty product. It's a shame because the legs at Bellagio were the biggest I've ever encountered on a buffet.
    I'm reaching the point of giving up on them, but gosh, I hate to because of the rememberance of how good they used to be.
     
  2. Dougie

    Dougie I am IN!

    Joined:
    Sep 18, 2002
    Messages:
    6,360
    Location:
    Idaho
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    14
    It's their environment. Young crabs now hang out with the wrong crowd which, in turn, makes them quite salty. I blame this on the crab parents.
     
  3. ken2v

    ken2v This Space For Rent

    Joined:
    Sep 18, 2003
    Messages:
    29,784
    Location:
    A nice place
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    110
    It's like everything else, Andy, slow/local beats massed/gassed, so to say. (And then there is the matter of excess demand.) Certainly Vegas ain't exactly the Aleutians, but since most northern-waters crab comes in pre-cooked and brine-frozen, some places obviously handle it better than you are experiencing, based on quality of inputs and however long the stuff has been sitting on the tarmac at McCarran or in the back of the freezer or on the buffet line.

    I'm a real fan of Costco's sourcing. But we've learned not to use its cockles, mussels and clams; they just don't stack up to the finfish and seaspiders.
     
  4. ken2v

    ken2v This Space For Rent

    Joined:
    Sep 18, 2003
    Messages:
    29,784
    Location:
    A nice place
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    110
    Props to the man!!
     
  5. DonD

    DonD VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Nov 5, 2004
    Messages:
    9,135
    Location:
    So Cal 91748
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    300
    When defrosting crab legs, prop them up so the salt water can drain out. When they are horizontal, they just soak in the salt water.
     
  6. Bo333

    Bo333 VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Aug 20, 2010
    Messages:
    1,758
    Location:
    Austin, TX
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    130
    LOL, very good!
     
  7. chef

    chef Resident Buffetologist

    Joined:
    Apr 20, 2002
    Messages:
    5,573
    Location:
    Illinois
    I really don't remember it being this way 20 years ago.
    It's not just crab legs either. Oher frozen seafood has been sodium tripolyphosated to death, it seems.
    Just look at the moisture loss a product after the defrosting stage.
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.