Seafood Preparation: How to Cook Crab Legs

After having crab legs at a few different restaurants, I realized that there were different ways to cook crab legs. Wanting to fix them at home, I went on a search for the best way to cook them. After some effort and a few failed attempts, I finally figured out the absolute best way to cook crab legs. Crab legs come frozen and already cooked, but they need to be seasoned.

One of the biggest complaints that people have about crab legs is the messy water coming out of them. I've had it literally running down my arms and off the table while eating them in one local restaurant. One way to prepare crab legs is by baking them. While baking them avoids the water problem, it doesn't allow for seasoning.

Steaming crab legs is another popular way to prepare them. I haven't tried this myself, but I imagine that as with baking it would probably be difficult to season the crab legs. But some people like them not seasoned and this would be a good method since it wouldn't dry them out like baking.

Boiling crab legs is certainly the best way to prepare crab legs. I was told to boil them for about 8 - 10 minutes with some salt. When that turned out not tasting so good, I added some sea salt. When that didn't taste much better, I went online looking for recipes.

In the 1940s, bars in Baltimore gave away crabs cooked in Old Bay so patrons would order more drinks (Wikipedia). After reading about Old Bay seasoning, but not having any, I tried to make my own using a mixture of seasonings including salt, pepper, celery seed, bay leaves, and ginger. These crab legs tasted the best so far, but still not as good as the ones I was trying to mimic from a local Chinese restaurant.

Deciding to try cooking crab legs at home again, I bought some Old Bay seasoning. Feeling that during my last attempt they were overcooked (remember, you're only reheating the crab legs), I cooked them for only five minutes in the Old Bay. They turned out perfect. They were better than the ones at the restaurant!

To prepare crab legs with Old Bay seasoning, fill an ex-large Dutch oven with water and add a 1/2 cup of Old Bay. The Old Bay container has a recipe for steaming that includes vinegar, but I did not try this. Bring the water to a boil and then add the crab legs. Boil for only five minutes, remove from water, and serve with clarified butter.

Crab legs make a great side dish to a small grilled steak. They can also be served as a main course with a baked potato and a tossed salad.