In our opinion, there isn’t a single meal on earth that feels more indulgent than an enormous pile of beautifully steamed crab legs, heaped onto the center of the table and served alongside crusty, buttery bread, melted butter, homemade mayonnaise, and a few fantastic bottles of chilled white wine. And while this meal can be a rather pricey one, often reserved for special occasions, it’s actually one of the easiest things you can make at home. No fancy seafood restaurant required. Let’s get into all the crab leg details, including how to stream crab legs at home.
Know your crab
Depending on the time of year and where you live in the country, there are many different varieties of crab that you may find at your local grocer or seafood market. When looking for whole crabs to purchase, you’ll likely see options like blue, stone, and Dungeness. But if legs are more your thing (who can blame you?), you’ll probably have a choice of two crabs – king and snow. These crabs are known for their legs, which are easy to find by themselves instead of having to purchase an entire crab.
Snow crabs come from the cold, northern waters of both the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. Named for their meat, which turns from bright red in color to a snow-white hue when cooked, these crabs have long legs for which they are so prized. The flavor of their meat is sweet, slightly briney, very complex, and perfectly balanced.
King crabs, also known as Alaskan crabs, are much larger than snow crabs and have large, meaty legs. This variety is found all along the Alaskan coast and is prized for its tender, delicious flavor. This particular variety is often compared to lobster due to the richness of its flavor and their extremely succulent meat.
Both snow and king crabs can be found at most grocers year-round, even when out of season, as they freeze tremendously well.
Is it better to boil or steam crab legs?
When cooking meat as delicate as crab, it’s important to be as gentle as possible. This means steering clear of scorching hot, boiling water and opting for a tender steam instead.
Crab legs are most often sold having first been pre-cooked and flash-frozen, so steaming is the perfect method for thawing crab legs without actually cooking them. The gentle heat of the steam will help preserve the tender texture of the crab meat while maintaining its salty-sweet flavor and natural juices.
One of the elements that make crab legs so incredibly delicious is the salty, savory juice within the meat, and it’s important to avoid cooking that out and turning the crab legs dry or rubbery. Aggressively boiling crab legs will have this unfortunate effect and also cause the meat to take on extra water, thus diluting their natural flavor. It’s always, always better to steam your crab legs instead of carelessly throwing them into a pot of boiling water.
How to steam crab legs at home
Steaming crab legs at home is really one of the easiest ways to get an absolutely delicious meal on the table. You just need to follow a few simple steps.
Do you wash crab legs before steaming?
While crab legs have most likely been scrubbed clean before making their way to the market, it’s still a good idea to give them a rinse in cool water to remove any extra sand or grit from the shell.
How do I steam crab legs without a steamer?
One of our favorite steamer substitutions is a humble colander. As long as you have a pot that’s wide enough to set the colander inside, you have a perfect makeshift steamer basket. If your colander fits inside, but the lid won’t sit right, you can simply use foil on top of the pot instead. Just be sure to firmly press the foil on top so that the steam can’t escape.
Steaming crab legs
- Place a steamer basket (or colander) in a large pot filled with roughly two inches of salted water. Be sure that the surface of the water doesn’t come through the bottom of the steamer basket or colander.
- Bring the water to a full boil, then place the crab legs inside the steamer basket or colander.
- Cover the pot with the lid or a piece of foil, ensuring the rim is sealed well.
- Allow the crab legs to steam until completely heated through, about 5 to 8 minutes.
- Remove the crab legs from the heat and allow them to cool just slightly before serving.
- Serve with melted butter or melted garlic butter and crusty bread, and enjoy!
