Snow crabs are very tasty crustaceans which are found in the waters of the Arctic, Pacific and Atlantic oceans. These are caught and largely consumed in Japan, Northern Europe and North America. The snow crabs are also frozen and shipped to countries all across the world. Hence, people all across the world have their own way of how to make crab legs.
There is no particular way on how to make crab legs, but following the steps is very important.
Cooking the Snow Crab Legs by Boiling
Choosing the Size
Snow crab legs are generally quite large and since they are cooked whole, you will need to make sure that they completely fit into your pot for cooking. While buying the snow crab legs, keep in mind the size of the largest pot that you own and buy them accordingly, such that they can be dipped entirely in water. This is a very crucial step on how to make crab legs.
Thaw the Snow Crab Legs
Now that you have chosen and bought the perfect sized snow crab legs for yourself, it is time to thaw. When learning how to make crab legs, not many people pay attention to thawing.
You can place the snow crab legs overnight in the refrigerator, but make sure that you cover them completely while you do so. In case these haven’t been placed in the refrigerator the entire night, then you can run it under cold water. Continue doing so until the legs have thawed completely.
Generally these snow crab legs are pre-cooked; hence, it doesn’t take very long to cook them. But to keep them fresh, they are frozen. This helps in learning how to make snow crab legs.
Prepare to Boil
As mentioned above, the snow crab legs must be completely immersed in water while you cook them. Hence, choose a pot which can comfortably accommodate the snow crab legs. This is one of the most important steps on how to make crab legs.
Now take a large pot and fill about 2/3rd of it with water. Add some salt to it for flavour. There is no specific measurement regarding how much salt should be added to the water, since you will be doing so according to what suits your taste. Now bring the water to boil.
Tuck the Legs
Place the snow crab legs in the pot with boiling water. While you drop the in water, be very careful to not burn your hands. You will notice that the water will stop boiling when you have placed the crab legs in it. So, turn up the heat and make sure that the water starts boiling again. This is a very important step in how to make crab legs.
Continue boiling the snow crab legs for approximately 4 or 5 minutes. Once, cooked you can get them out of the pot using the tongs. Drain out the excess water from them. You need to remember this top on how to make crab legs.
Splitting the Legs
You will need kitchen shears in order to split the legs open of the snow crab. Split these lengthwise and each leg can be served to a guest. You will have to serve these with seafood forks as it is needed to get the meat out of the shell. Learning how to split the legs of the crab is very important when you are learning how to make crab legs.
Serve
Generally the snow crab legs are served with some butter and lemon. So melt some butter (or clarified butter) until you are sure that there are no more solid parts left in it. Serve it hot and enjoy it disappear from in front of you, as your guests relish them. if they like it, then you have learnt how to make crab legs.
Cooking the Snow Crab Legs by Baking
Preheating the Oven
Before we even begin the process of baking the snow crab legs, you will need to preheat your oven. Set the temperature of the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (or 177 degrees Celsius). The baking rack can be placed right in the centre of this oven. Preheating the oven is very important when you are learning how to make king crab legs.
Thaw the Snow Crab Legs
Thaw the legs of the snow crab by placing them under water. It is very important to ensure that the crab legs are no longer frozen, since they may end up messing with the end result. You do not want to serve your guests raw crab legs. As mentioned earlier, this is a very important step in how to make crab legs.
Crack Open the Crab Legs
Use the kitchen shears in order to cut the legs lengthwise. This not only looks good and is easier to plate but will also be very convenient for your guests to enjoy. They can make use of the seafood forks and eat them efficiently.
Preparation for Baking
Take a large baking tray and place the crab legs in them. Brush the snow crab legs with some butter. You can also coat these legs using olive oil. Now sprinkle these legs with some lemon juice. Season it with salt and any other spices according to your desired taste. This is important when learning how to make crab legs.
Bake
Put the baking tray in your preheated oven for about 8 or 9 minutes. If the legs haven’t thawed completely, they will take longer to cook. But since we do not know specifically how long, you might end up having raw sea food on your hands. Hence, it is very important to thaw the legs properly. This is one of the crucial steps when you are learning how to make king crab legs.
Serve
Generally the snow crab legs are served with butter and lemon. Considering the fact that these were already put on the crab legs before baking, you can serve the legs as it is.
Cooking the Crab Legs by Steaming
Choose the Right Pot
Take a pot that is large enough to accommodate the crab legs, has a strainer, as well as, a lid. If the strainer is small, then fitting all the snow crab legs in at once may be hard to do so. When learning how to make crab legs, it is also important to know how to choose the right pot for cooking these.
Thaw the Crab Legs
As already mentioned before, thawing the snow crab legs is extremely essential. Place them under running, cold water in order to ensure that they have thawed properly. This is a very important step, because I they aren’t thawed completely, the legs will cook unevenly. Thawing is very crucial step on how to make crab legs.
Fill Water in the Pot
Since we will be steaming the snow crab legs, the pot needs to be filled with water just halfway through. You need make sure that even when the water is boiling, there is enough space between the steamer basket and the water. Now put some salt in the water and place the steamer basket in. Cover the pot with its lid. While learning how to make crab legs, anyone will tell you that it is important to have sufficient water to create enough steam to cook the crab meat.
Place the Crab Legs
When the water in the pot begins to boil, open the lid of the pot, bend the legs of the crab and place it in the steamer basket one by one. Place the lid on the pot and let it steam for about 6 minutes. Now you know how to make crab legs.
Serve
Remove the strainer at the end of 6 minutes and take the snow crab legs out immediately to serve. As instructed before, you can serve them with butter, as well as, lemon wedges.
- Thawing is a very important process in cooking the snow crab legs. If the meat has thawed on the outside but is still frozen on the inside, then the meat on the inside will not cook properly. You do not want to forget this, when you are learning how to make crab legs.
- It is very common for people to burn their hands when placing the legs in boiling water. Be careful when you do so.
- Keep kitchen shears handy while dealing with a snow crab, without which you will not be able to pry the legs apart.
- Follow the step by step instructions, irrespective of the way in which you are going to cook the crab legs. Following instructions is very important when you learning how to make crab legs.
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