Any tips on how to cook crab legs?

[ProteinSnob]

DH and I missed our Valentine's Day dinner due to some unexpected school drama. Now that it is finally out of the way, we are planning a little date night tonight when the kids are in bed.

I'm about to head over to Costco for a few crab legs, where I know they are fresh and the price is right. Any tips on how to prepare them?

I miss living in certain places on the East Coast, where you could buy them fresh -already steamed in Old Bay and wrapped in newspaper- from food trucks at the side of the road.

 

[KathyF]

I haven't tried to buy crab legs from Costco, but wouldn't they already be cooked?

 

[Sheanie]

They are pre-cooked, so all you do is dunk them in a kettle of boiling (plain, unsalted) water until they are hot all the way through. Pull them out with tongs, test to make sure they are hot, then drain them. I do this by hanging them upside down, claws up, over the sink one at a time. Then you plate them and serve with melted butter.

I plate my own with a side of alfredo sauce AND melted butter.

 

[brooklyngirl]

Ok, I feel stupid asking these questions, but I've never eaten crab legs before. I've had whole crabs, blue claw or dungeonous, but never those big king crab legs... Are they always precooked? Do I need a nutcracker or seafood fork? My husband doesn't eat any seafood, so when I have some it's always at a restaurant or someone else's house so I never bought those things.
Snob- can you report back and let us know how the Costco ones are?

 

[ProteinSnob]

I plate my own with a side of alfredo sauce AND melted butter.

Alfredo sauce?! Ok, that sounds fabulous! Never heard of that before.

 

[ProteinSnob]

Alas, I missed the crab leg vendor at Costco. Apparently they packed up that road show right after Valentine's Day.

Stopped by my backup grocery store and bought (previously cooked and then frozen) snow crab legs (King crab legs were over $30/lb. Yikes!) I'm steaming them now in a giant pot of water, vinegar, and Old Bay. The butcher told me to boil them for about 8 minutes.

We use nutcrackers and kitchen shears ($1 at Dollar Tree). I usually open the legs for everyone, especially the kids. I'm much faster at it, due to my time in "crab country".

They smell AMAZING!!

 

[Taterweight]

Crab guy is at my Costco once or twice a month, so he'll be back soon.

King crab has sharp spines but the best meat - so you'll definitely wanna have crackers or even use a meat tenderizer (put a kitchen towel over the leg first) and whack it open.

Hope it's a good meal for ya PS! I'm having my crab tomorrow - I can't wait!

 

[ProteinSnob]

I think I ate 10 crab legs or something. The butter...the butter was my favorite part! I splurged on fancy butter.

 

[Taterweight]

I think I ate 10 crab legs or something. The butter...the butter was my favorite part! I splurged on fancy butter.

That is so awesome!! I'm glad you had an excellent meal.

 

[Sheanie]

See, I like snow crab better than king. To me, it tastes sweeter. There are several ways to open them. King crab is usually scored, so you can bend it using two napkins or dish towels to cover the spines until it cracks open. Snow crab I just bend at the joint the wrong way and yank. The cartilage comes out (inedible) and then I crack the part open, dip the meat in butter and eat out of the shell. The larger pieces I whack with my meat tenderizer hammer, same with the claws, then pick out the meat.

Crab alfredo is usually served with alfredo sauce and crab meat over pasta noodles. I just eat the alfredo and crab with a spoon. It's how I order it at Red Lobster, they bring it in a bowl with a soup spoon. They know me well, and I usually get extra crab on top now.

When you shop in the grocery store for crab, look for the brightest orange shells with a nice glazing of ice over them. Don't buy them if they are pale looking or if they don't have a good coating of ice on them, they will be frost-bitten and yucky.