How To Cook King Crab Legs (4 ways)
Here's how to cook king crab legs tender and juicy for a delicious seafood dinner during holidays and special occasions. Select your favorite method to cook Alaskan king crab: steamed, baked, grilled, or pressure cooked.
Servings: 2 servings
Calories: 494kcal
Equipment
- knife and cutting board to cut lemon and parsley
- 3-inch mini skillet for garlic butter
- 6-quart Instant Pot for pressure cooked method
- outdoor grill for grilled method
- baking sheet for baked method
- 4-quart soup pot for steamed method
- galvanized long serving tray or platter
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds King Crab Legs and Claws
- 1 cup Water
- ¼ cup Unsalted Butter or Ghee
- 2 cloves Garlic minced
- Parsley for garnish
Instructions
For the garlic butter
- Place butter and garlic in a mini skillet or microwave-safe bowl. If using stove or grill to cook crab legs, place skillet alongside legs and heat until butter melts.Microwave instructions: Combine the butter and garlic in a heat-safe bowl or microwave on HIGH for 1 minute, or until butter is melted.
Steamed king crab legs
- Place a trivet in the bottom of a large soup pot, stack CRAB LEGS on the trivet, and pour in 1 cup WATER.
- Turn stove burner to medium-high, cover the pot, and steam crab legs about 5 minutes, or until warmed through.
Instant Pot King Crab Legs
- Place a trivet in the bottom of the Instant Pot, stack CRAB LEGS on the trivet, and pour in 1 cup WATER.
- Secure lid and turn pressure release valve to "Sealing".
- Select MANUAL or PRESSURE COOK and cook 0 minutes on LOW pressure (1 minute for frozen crab legs), followed by a 5 minute natural pressure release.*Note: there's no need to pressure cook crab legs any longer than this if you bought them pre-cooked, which is usually how they're sold.
Baked King Crab Legs
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Place crab legs on a baking sheet and brush with OLIVE OIL. Set garlic butter skillet on the same baking sheet.
- Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until crab leg meat is warmed through.
Grilled King Crab Legs
- Preheat grill to MEDIUM-HIGH or 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Brush or spritz CRAB LEGS with olive oil, place on the grill next to skillet of garlic butter, and turn off center burner.
- Close the lid and grill the crab until warmed through (5-8 minutes).
Serving and storage
- Serve king crab legs warm with melted GARLIC BUTTER, garnished with LEMON and PARSLEY. Serve with kitchen sheers for opening.
Storing leftovers
- Allow crab legs to cool completely and refrigerate in an airtight container up to 5 days.
Nutrition
Serving: 0.75lb | Calories: 494kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 63g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 204mg | Sodium: 2854mg | Potassium: 713mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 791IU | Vitamin C: 25mg | Calcium: 172mg | Iron: 2mg