How to Cook Crab Legs

Crab legs can be a delicious, healthy dish, whose sweet flavor and delicate texture are enough to make any seafood lover drool. So much so that restaurants everywhere use them as their headlining dish to draw people in, usually for a hefty price tag.

While many people do not know how to cook crab legs, it is mostly because they appear intimidating while sitting tucked away behind the display case of the seafood section. In actuality, they are quite simple to prepare. So, the next time you’re looking to impress a date with your culinary prowess, consider making crab legs.

The first step to cooking crab legs, as with any seafood dish, is simply to make sure that what you are getting is as fresh as possible. More urban areas, as well as those close to the sea, often have fresh fish markets which haul the fresh catch in daily. These are the best places to shop for crab legs.

However, if you find yourself in an area without these amenities, you can still find good quality seafood. There is a good chance that the crab legs you will find in the seafood or freezer section are most likely pre-cooked. If this is the case, you will simply need to broil, steam or boil them. However, if you are buying whole crabs, they are likely raw and you will have to clean the crab prior to consumption.

Broiled Crab Legs with Garlic Lemon Butter

Serves 4

For this recipe you will need:

Step 1

Rinse off the crab legs, making sure to clean any sand or other unwanted particles from them. Dry them off with paper towels and put them on a greased baking sheet.

Step 2

Stir together the butter, lemon peel, lemon juice and salt in a mixing bowl. Cover the crab legs in the butter mixture and place them in the oven to broil.

Step 3

Broil for approximately 5 minutes or until heated completely through. Remove the crab legs from the broiler and place on a plate lined with paper towels.

While the crab leg recipe listed above is delicious by itself, here is a quick garlic lemon butter recipe to use for dipping.

Easy Garlic Lemon Butter

Serves 4

How to Cook Crab Legs

How to Cook Crab Legs

For this recipe you will need:

Step 1

Melt the butter in the microwave or in a pan over low heat.

Step 2

Stir in the garlic pepper blend and lemon juice, tasting as you go to make sure that you don’t add too much.

Step 3

Transfer the melted butter mixture to individual serving vessels and dip the crab meat into the mixture as you eat.

There are a few different ways of cooking crab legs. Broiling crab legs makes for an easy, hassle free cooking experience, you can also boil your crab legs which some feel helps to keep the crab meat moist. The downside of this for some, however, is that water has a tendency to get into the shells and makes eating them a little bit more messy.

Boiled Crab Legs

Serves 4

For this recipe you will need:

Step 1

Fill your stockpot about 2/3 of the way full with water and add your salt or “crab boil.” If you are only using salt and no crab boil, you want to add enough of it so that it tastes like sea water. Add the lemon wedges to the pot and wait for the water to boil.

Step 2

Add the crab legs and boil until they turn pink, the sign that they are done. Remove them from the water and place on a serving tray lined with paper towels. Be sure to have extra paper towels ready as boiled crab legs will be a messy treat.

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