With a protein like Alaskan Red King Crab, you don't need to do much to make an unforgettable, five-star meal. It's pefect for holidays or special occassions at home. It stands on its own as a delicious appetizer, can be enjoyed as decadant main course or served as a side dish that deserves a big section of your plate. These methods for cooking Red King Crab at home could not be simpler, making it easy to enjoy this Alaskan delicacy.
Red King Crab is frozen fully cooked to preserve its sweet taste and delicate texture, and the shell is split to easily remove the meat. Once the meat is thawed, you can even enjoy it cold, right out of the fridge.
While the split shell makes it easy to enjoy, do not use a cooking method like poaching that fully submerges the crab in liquid to avoid a soggy bite.
You can cook red king crab from frozen, or thaw it before hand using our quick thaw or overnight thawing method depending on your preferences and tastes.
How to Enjoy Red King Crab Cold
Because red king crab comes fully cooked and pre-split (or cut in half), once defrosted you can simply eat right out of the shell without any cooking or cracking. This method is perfect for a low-effort, high-impact appetizer, or for preparing crab meat for a recipe like an indulgent crab mac & cheese.
1. Defrost according to the packaging, either overnight in the fridge or submerged in a seperate air tight bag in cold water.
2. Once thawed, enjoy cold right out of the fridge with one of these decadent dips. You can serve your crab in the shell or removed from the shell for easier dipping.
How to Steam Red King Crab
Steaming crab is the quintessential way to cook crab. It's particularly perfect for cooking split red king crab as it keeps the meat out of the liquid to preserve the toothsome bite. Bringing a steaming pile of red king crab legs is a showstopper, a sure way to impress and express love through food. Enjoy hot, right out of the shell - no cracking needed!
1. Set a steamer basket into a pot large enough to accommodate your king crab legs and claws, filling the bottom of the pot with an inch of water.
2. Bring it to a boil and add the crab to steamer basket. Close the pot with a tight-fitting lid or aluminum foil, and allow to steam for 4 minutes if thawed and about 6 to 8 minutes if frozen depending on size of pieces.
3. Plate and enjoy on its own, with drawn butter, or your favorite dip.
How to Steam Red King Crab Without a Steamer
If you don’t have a steamer basket or pressure cooker, you can simply cover the bottom of a wide pot or pan with water — less than ¼ inch in depth — and steam your legs directly in this layer of liquid. Cover the vessel tightly with a lid or aluminum foil. It should be shallow enough that your crab legs are steamed rather than boiled, but contain enough water so that the liquid doesn’t burn off before your legs are finished warming through.
How to Bake Red King Crab from Frozen or Thawed
Baking Red King Crab is a great hands-off way to bring your crab meat up to hot without too much work. All you need is a sheetpan and parchment or foil.
1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Line a sheet pan or shallow baking pan with parchment or foil. Arrange thawed crab legs in a single layer, cut side down.
3. Bake for 5-8 minutes if thawed, or 18-20 minutes if frozen, until crab legs are heated through.
4. Remove from sheet pan, pat dry and serve.
How to Broil Red King Crab from Frozen or Thawed
Broiling Red King Crab can quickly bring up the meat to temperature whith a high heat source. Tip: do not use parchment paper while broiling as above.
1. Preheat oven to your low broiler setting.
2. Line a sheet pan or shallow baking pan with aluminum foil. Arrange thawed crab legs in a single layer, cut side down.
3. Broil for 5-6 minutes if thawed, or 10 minutes if frozen, or until crab legs are heated through.
4. Remove from sheet pan, pat dry and serve.
How to Grill Red King Crab from Thawed
Grilling red king crab can make it easy to enjoy al fresco, adding just a touch of smoky flavor to the crab meat as it warms up over the fire. Ideally, you will grill red king crab once it's thawed. You can simply place the crab legs in a bowl of cold water to defrost as you're pre-heating and prepping the grill — by the time the grill is hot and ready, the crab should be read to toss onto the grates.
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Preheat grill or grill pan over medium-high heat.
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Place crab cut side up on grill.
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Grill crab for 2-3 minutes without flipping, until the crab is heated through.
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Remove from grill, transfer to a plate and serve.
How to Grill Red King Crab from Frozen
For a list-minute protein addition to any cookout, you can grill red king crab from frozen. It's best to grill crab from frozen over moderate, indirect heat so that it can heat up as gently as possible.
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Preheat grill or grill pan over medium heat.
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Place crab cut side up on grill, over indirect heat from the grill.
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Grill crab for 8-10 minutes without flipping, until the crab is heated through.
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Remove from grill, transfer to a plate and serve.
