Recipe For Cooking King Crab Legs – This classic Alaskan king crab recipe is easy to cook in no time. Serve with melted butter for dipping.
Hank is the author of five cookbooks, the latest in 2021. His website Hunter Angler Gardener Cook won the James Beard Foundation Best Food Blog Award in 2013.
Recipe For Cooking King Crab Legs
One of my earliest memories as a child was eating a lot of Alaskan king crab legs in restaurants. Drizzled in lots of melted butter and served with a rarely used lemon wedge, it was great fun scooping out big chunks of rich, flavorful crab meat from those massive legs.
How To Steam A Frozen Cooked Alaskan King Crab Legs
I grew up in New Jersey, where the much smaller blue crab reigns supreme. As a child, the thought of giant crabs up to six feet long roaming the bottom of the ocean was exciting and a little scary. Eating these crabs was like traveling to another world.
Another world at that time. Our family wasn’t particularly wealthy, and I don’t ever remember king crab being in the same class as Maine lobster. King crab was what you got when lobster was too expensive.
If you look at the history of the Alaskan king crab fishery, you’ll understand why. At the same time he was enjoying mountains of king crabs, the fishery was reaching peak volatility. In 1981, anglers caught 130 million pounds of kings. Two years later, the fishery collapsed.
It took years, but crab populations recovered. Since then, king crab has been fished sustainably throughout Alaska. And while it will never be cheap again, it’s still one of the world’s best luxury foods.
How To Cook Snow Crab Legs
The rich, tender and salty king crab is more reminiscent of lobster than crab. The meat is also easy to remove and fills the shells, giving you a good amount of meat per pound, unlike most other crabs.
Almost all king crabs are pre-cooked. It has to be, to maintain freshness. Alaskan king crab is cooked and quickly raised in port. If they didn’t, the giant crabs would die and rot within hours. This means that as a cook, you are actually reheating the king crab, not cooking it. So be good. I prefer to steam it for 5 minutes and call it a day. The king crab doesn’t need anything else.
King crab is best served plain. Doing too much would be like stuffing a burrito with caviar. Steam, grill or even microwave it, then choose a supporting player and enjoy. The classic is, was and always will be melted butter and lemon. It’s a classic for a reason.
Buying wild-caught red king crabs in the US (especially Alaska) is a good option because they are sustainably caught under strict government guidelines. You can buy directly from the fishery itself or look for wild-caught or sustainably farmed labels in the store.
Instant Pot Crab Legs
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to the daily diet. 2000 calories per day is used for general nutrition advice.
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are offered, the first list counts for the food. Garnishes and optional components are not included. Dip them in this garlic butter enhanced with lemon spice and aged butter.
This dish is perfect when you want to indulge a little and makes a great lunch, hearty dinner or very impressive but very easy dinner for two. Try them for Christmas, New Year’s Eve or Day, and Valentine’s Day.
We’re not on a low-carb diet, so we serve these baked crab legs with a side of baked potatoes and garlic crackers.
Baked King Crab Legs In Garlic Butter, Crab Legs Recipe
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This set of crab leg crackers and spikes works well for getting the meat out of the shell. Be sure to remove every last bit of that tender, juicy crab meat. Hmm!
This recipe for Grilled Scallops with Spinach and Bacon is delicious, easy and quick. With only 10 minutes to prepare and 10 minutes to cook, you can have this stunning and romantic dish on the table in about 20 minutes.
Alaska King Crab Au Gratin
Baked Butter Scallops are large scallops baked in butter, white wine, lemon juice, parmesan cheese and garlic until completely tender. More parmesan cheese is baked on top and then these delicious scallops are served on a bed of soft pasta.
Cheesy Garlic Bacon Scallops and Linguine has golden brown seared scallops tossed in a creamy parmesan cheese sauce, tomatoes, garlic and perfectly cooked linguine. This recipe is quick and easy, ready in just 30 minutes.
Perfectly Grilled Scallops and Cheesy Polenta features tender and delicious golden brown scallops served on a bed of creamy parmesan polenta.
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How To Cook Crab Legs (5 Ways!)
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 776 Total Fat: 55g Saturated Fat: 19g Trans Fat: 1g Unsaturated Fat: 32g Cholesterol: 241mg Sodium: 2157mg Carbohydrates: 1g Fiber: 0g Sugar: 0g Protein : 66 g
I have never tried them in the oven. I made them before boiling but the taste was too salty. I retested them by rinsing them several times with water but they were always too salty. How do you prepare them before putting them in the oven?
Hi Dianne, I put these on the baking sheet without any other prep. But I found this article on how to remove salt from frozen crab legs (you will need to copy and paste it into your browser) https://www.ehow.com/how_7727558_remove-salt-frozen-crab-legs.html
Hi Marci, I haven’t tried this recipe with snow crab legs, but I think you could use any kind. Let me know how it goes for you 🙂
How To Cook Crab Legs (boiled, Steamed, And Broiled)
I’m confused. Why can you butter the shell? We don’t eat it! Can we cut the legs lengthwise and spread them that way?
@Zona I love the recipe AND the butter crust on the crust added to its flavor Nice call Thanks Terrence
Hi Marta, brushing the outside of your feet with butter definitely adds flavor. I did not cut the legs before cooking. Choosing to cut the legs in half lengthwise can shorten the time it takes to cook them. With the legs fresh or pre-cooked, it offers an opportunity to flavor them more with butter and spices. You will need a sharp, heavy knife or good kitchen shears to cut the crab legs and fairly strong hands. It’s generally easier to cook the legs whole and then separate them, but you can do this first if you like. Hope it helps 🙂 Whether you’re looking to try something new or want to make an impressive holiday spread, grilled crab legs should be high on your list. While it’s not the cheapest recipe I could make (and I hope my wife doesn’t look too closely at my credit card statement!), it was one of the best things I’ve ever made on the grill, and it took less than 15 minutes.. minutes to do!
I love wandering around Whole Foods, especially the Seafood and Butcher counters. I loaded them up with fresh mussels, clams and of course these amazingly delicious crab legs. Hi, I’m an Amazon Prime member and saved a few bucks a pound, so that counts as savings right? We’ll see if this argument works with the woman.
Grilled King Crab Legs With Chimichurri Butter
Super easy – they’re pre-cooked so no complicated instructions. There are other recipes for crab legs, but nothing beats the taste of grilling them for a special occasion!
Delicious – Holy cow, are these delicious! We made three different kinds of butter-based sauces for the crab legs, but I think they taste perfect on their own too!
Crab Legs – I chose King Crab for this meal, but Snow Crab legs work just as well. King crabs have bigger, thicker legs and claws, which means there’s a lot more meat in there. Snow crabs have thinner legs, but their shell is much easier to crack. It’s a compensation. Dungeness crab legs are slightly shorter and are easier to find in some areas of the country.
Bottom line: It doesn’t really matter what type of crab leg you’re using, as they will all grill similarly.
Preparing Golden King Crab
Butter Dips – There are three options here: 1) Regular Melted Butter, 2) Garlic Butter, and 3) Burnt Lemon Butter. All are delicious! If you want to be really fancy, you can mince the garlic before adding it to the butter. Heck, forget the butter and just
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