King Crab Legs (also Snow Crab Legs)

King crab, or stone crab, is a type of shellfish with extremely long legs. King Crab Legs are already cooked when you purchase them. They are cooked on the fishing boats or immediately upon landfall to preserve freshness (the crab is caught, cooked, then blast frozen to preserve its fresh taste). Because of this, King Crab need only to be adequately heated before eating. The tender white meat is usually cooked for only a few minutes and served with butter.

Purchase 8 ounces to 1 pound per person. It is recommended that crab legs thaw overnight in your refrigerator. Thawed crab legs can be maintained in the refrigerator for two days, but they should really be cooked as soon as they have been defrosted if possible. Boiling is not recommended for king crab legs. This is because the meat is so delicate in flavor that cooking it directly in water or using a crab boil can destroy the delicious flavors.

Best Sides to Eat with Crab Legs & Lobster

Steam Preparation:

Let the water in the bottom of the steamer pot come to a boil, then add the crab legs in the steamer and cover.

The crabs will be heated through when you can smell them, 4 - 10 minutes. Pick one up with a tong and touch the meaty part just to be sure that it is indeed warm. The best way to get at the meat is to use scissors. Just break the crab apart at the obvious places and then cut down the middle. Or you can serve with a nut cracker and pick to allow guests to break open their own shells.

Serve with melted butter flavored with lemon juice. Some chefs add a touch of garlic or herbs to the butter for added flavor.

See Steamed Whole Lobster/Crab for the recipes for Drawn Butter and Lemon-Caper Mayonnaise, which is a good option if serving the crab legs cold.

Other Dipping Sauces:

Rouille Sauce (This is a good sauce, but I was not fond of it with crab legs)
Mustard Dipping Sauce
Diablo Sauce