How to Cook Crab Legs

Picking out the Best Crab Legs

When looking for crab legs in the grocery stores, there are a few things to look for that will give you the best tasting outcome and the highest quality product. Before you start shopping, consider that this might not be a job for your local grocery store. Do a bit of research. About the crab- first is the smell. The crab should smell sweet and oceanic. If you are picking through legs and smell something fishy or ammonia like, put that back, it isn’t fresh. The shell on the legs should also be bright and shiny, you want to avoid any shells that look dull or discolored. Something to remember is the crab you are buying isn’t raw, it was cooked quickly after it was caught and then flash frozen to maintain freshness. To keep the crab fresh when you get home, put it straight in the refrigerator.

Snow Crab vs. Dungeness Crab vs. King Crab

There are 3 main types of crabs that people like to enjoy- the snow crab, the Dungeness crab, and the king crab. All three are delicious and have different attributes that make them unique.

Snow Crab
These have the smallest legs but a sweet, delicate meat. The shell is soft and some people can crack the shell without any tools. This crab leg texture is a little more firm than other crab leg textures.

Dungeness Crab
Compared to King Crab, these legs have a sweeter, more mild flavor and are smaller in size. They have a very hard shell that requires tools to break.

King Crab
The most popular crab legs because of their size and delicious meat, these legs can grow up to 10 pounds in size. The meat is delicate and sweet and tastes perfect dipped in butter. The shell is hard and spikey.

Baked Crab Legs

Baking crab legs is just about as easy as it gets. A lot of people get intimidated by crab legs because they assume that it is a complicated process. This couldn’t be further from the truth. I promise you, it’s even easier than making boxed mac and cheese! Here’s what you do:

Bake – preheat the oven and place the crab legs in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes.

Prepare the butter – while the crab is baking in the oven, you can make the butter dipping sauce. In a saucepan, melt butter and cook garlic. Add Old Bay, sugar, and lemon juice. Filter the mixture with a coffee filter or cheese cloth.

Serve– when the crab is done baking, serve warm with the butter dip and plenty of lemon wedges.

Boiled Crab Legs

When boiling crab legs, simply boil in salted water or season the water using the same boil liquid as used in our crab boil recipe. Boil for 4-7 minutes depending on the size of your crab legs. For snow crab and Dungeness crab, boil for about 4-5 minutes, King Crab about 6-7 minutes.

Other Cooking Methods

To Steam Crab Legs: place a steamer basket (if you don’t have a steamer basket, you can use a metal colander or strainer) at the bottom of a large pot. Add about 1 ½ cups of water with salt and layer in as many crab legs as will fit in whatever you’ve placed in there. Bring water to a boil, cover and cook for 4-5 minutes. If you are cooking the legs fresh from your freezer, cook for 7-10 minutes.

To Grill Crab Legs: heat your grill and brush your crab legs with oil, both sides. Place the crab legs on the grill and cook for 4-5 minutes, turning once.

How to Eat Crab Legs

Eating the crab legs is the most fun part of it! Using your hands and getting messy is what it’s all about. Be prepared to get buttery and greasy, but it’s worth it!

For certain types of crab, like Snow Crab legs, you can crack them open and get the meat out without using any type of tools because the shell is softer. However, for crab like King Crab, you definitely want some tools to make it easier. That’s where these shell crackers come in. I love the set I have because it also includes scissors, which are really handy for cutting up the side of a particularly thick and spiky King Crab shell. But like I said, the fun and satisfaction is in picking every last bit of meat out of that shell! Enjoy 🙂

The BEST Butter Sauce for Dipping

The butter sauce we made for these crab legs is what takes these crab legs to the next level. The taste has a little bit of everything, sweet, salty, sour, richness. It’s the perfect seafood dip, use it for future seafood expeditions, you won’t be sorry! I also love making this a clarified butter. It has a stronger, more concentrated, richer flavor that is so indulgent with these indulgent crab legs. I just had to strain it through a coffee filter to achieve this, but you could also pour it though a cheesecloth or super fine mesh strainer.

What to Serve with Crab Legs

Make it a feast! Most restaurants serve crab legs with a big baked potato, corn on the cob, roasted vegetables, yellow rice or orzo rice, coleslaw, mac and cheese, and buttermilk biscuits. You’ll be eating like royalty!

Tips and Suggestions

Enjoy hot or cold – I like my crab warm when I eat it but others like to have it chilled. They are delicious at any temperature. If you want it chilled, place the legs in an ice water bath after cooking and they will cool quickly.

Storing and reheating – be sure to wrap up leftovers tightly within 2 hours of cooking. Leftovers last 3-4 days when properly stored in the fridge (according to the USDA). To reheat leftovers, you can reheat in the air fryer at 380℉ for 3-5 minutes. This method will reheat any type of cooked crab leg. It’s better not to microwave leftovers. The crab meat tends to turn rubbery in the microwave.

More Crab and Seafood Recipes

Can’t get enough crab and seafood? Neither can we! Try some of our other favorite shellfish recipes:

Crab Boil
Cold Crab Dip
Hot Crab Dip
Easy Crab Salad Recipe
Shrimp Pasta Salad
Crab Salad Sandwich
Cream Cheese Shrimp Dip