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Managed Since: 08/01/2009
Views: 8,578
Money Earned: M$27.81
Page revenue is subject to change as we obtain data from our partners
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Introduction
- Cooking crab legs is not only impressive to foodie friends, but delicious. And guess what? It's easy. Whether you choose to steam your crab legs, prepare them on the grill, or even try out a recipe in the microwave, you can serve up perfect crab legs simply and quickly. Most chefs choose king crab, whether from the North Atlantic, the seas off Northern Europe, or Alaska.
- Read on to learn how to prepare crab legs. They're a tasty treat at any time of year, but especially fun to get messy with in summertime, on your deck or patio, with a group of close pals or family.
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Steaming Crab Legs
- Arguably the most popular method, steaming only requires a large pot, some water and a few basic ingredients.
- Most king crab is pre-cooked and frozen, so you'll simply need to steam it briefly before it's ready to eat.
- You will need to thaw the legs before cooking. Some suggest placing legs on a rack over a pan covered in plastic wrap. Otherwise, legs can thaw in the refrigerator for up to a day or two.
- Once thawed, split the crab legs using kitchen shears, cutting lengthwise through the underside of the legs.
- The underside is the side that's lighter in color.
- You can steam your crab legs in water or try something with more flavor, like beer.
- The Food Network has a recipe that calls for crab legs steamed in 3 bottles of beer with a little lemon and garlic.
- A court bouillon can be terrific, too.
- Whether you choose water or something else, place a steamer insert into a large stockpot, so the crab will truly steam and not be waterlogged.
- Steam the crab for a mere five minutes and serve.
- Note that if you are steaming whole crabs, it will take more like 30-40 minutes, but the preparation is the same. Your friends will just need to be comfortable learning how to eat a whole crab properly!
- You can either serve it as-is, with melted butter and some lemon, or dress it up (see Recipes to Try).
- If you do not have proper steaming materials, you can get much the same effect by broiling the crab for 3-4 minutes in your oven.
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Grilling Crab Legs
- A terrific method for summer, grilling crab legs is simple and the cleanup is easy, too.
- For this easy recipe using a Provencal butter, you'll want to grill the crab legs shell side down over a medium hot grill for four minutes, while you brush them with butter sauce.
- Epicurious recommends grilling for five minutes, until the crab is just heated through.
Cooking Crab Legs in the Microwave
- While some might disapprove of this method, you can easily cook crab in your microwave.
- In fact, it doesn't get much easier: simply cover the crab with damp paper towels and microwave for 2-3 minutes.
- The experts over at Red Lobster suggest microwaving for 5 minutes (still with the damp paper towels) on the defrost setting.
- Foodies from the San Francisco Chronicle feel there is no difference between steaming and microwaving, so if you want to go the least involved route, there's no one stopping you!
Recipes to Try
- Beyond the more simple preparation of crab, there are many variations to try.
- If you want to make things easy on your guests, remove the meat before cooking, and try out a recipe like this one from the Food Network, which has you dredging the crab in flour, Saltines and egg and cooking simply in garlic and butter.
- If you have any leftover crab meat, try making crab cakes, like these from Martha Stewart.
- For a popular appetizer, try using cooked crab meat in this recipe from Epicurious, which features a zesty mustard dipping sauce.
- Or you could try King crab "nachos", which involve won tons with a crab, avocado and wasabi filling.
Resources and Recipes for How to Cook Crab Legs
- Wikipedia: King Crab | Alaska King Crab Fishing
- Better Homes and Gardens: Broiled Crab Legs
- Epicurious: Crab Legs with Mustard Dipping Sauce | Fish Mixed Grill
- Food Network: King Crab | Drunken Alaskan King Crab Legs
- Martha Stewart: Chesapeake Bay Crabs | Crab Cakes
- eHow: How to Heat Frozen Crab Legs | How to Steam Crab
- Chowhound: How to Cook King Crab Legs?
- Secret Restaurant Recipes: Red Lobster's How to Cook Crab Legs
- San Francisco Chronicle: Crab Meets Microwave (February 4, 2004)
- Cooks.com: Grilled Crab Legs with Provencal Butter
- Yahoo! Answers: How Do I Cook Crab Legs?
- VideoJug: How to Eat Crab
- How To
