While slow thawing in the refrigerator is recommended, you can also thaw crab legs by placing them under cold, running water for several minutes. The vast majority of frozen crab legs are precooked. If you prefer uncooked crab legs, your only real option is to buy a live crab. Cook the crab legs as soon as possible after thawing them. They are only good for about two days in the refrigerator and should not be refrozen.
You could also use a Dutch oven instead of a heavy stockpot. Instead of garlic powder and dill, you could use up to 2 Tbsp (30 ml) of a generic seafood seasoning blend or any other seasoning you generally enjoy with crab legs.
Leave the stockpot uncovered as the crab legs cook. The crab legs only need to be cooked long enough to heat them. Cooking them too long will ruin their delicate flavor. The water should be at a steady simmer as the crab legs cook.
If desired, you can also serve the crab legs with melted butter. An easy, tasty and quick dish using crab legs can be made by adding the cooked crab legs to a simple butter and fresh garlic sauce, then adding to a light pasta.
You could thaw the crab legs a little more quickly by placing them beneath cold, running water for a few minutes.
You need to have enough water to cover the bottom, but not so much that it touches the bottom of the steamer rack. You could also use a heavy stockpot, as long as you have a steaming basket or steamer rack that will fit over it.
Ideally, you should use a steamer rack or basket that can be lowered into the pot so that the pot itself can be closed.
Make sure that the water is boiling before you cover the pot and start the timer. The finished crab legs should have a “cooked odor. "
Alternatively, you can also thaw precooked crab legs by running them under cold water for several minutes.
Since this pan will be going into the oven, it is better to use hot water than cold or room temperature water. Hot water is already closer to the temperature inside the oven. If you cook crab legs in cold water, you may need to wait an additional few minutes to allow the water enough time to heat up inside the baking pan.
Cover the entire pan with aluminum foil after adding the crab legs. Note that the water can be added to the pan either before or after you arrange the crab legs.
While it is not completely necessary, flipping the crab at the 4-minute mark promotes even cooking. Just make sure that you place the aluminum foil back on the pan before returning it to the oven.
Crab legs can also be thawed by running them under cold water for a few minutes. Even if you do not need to run the crab legs under cold water to thaw them, doing so could also help remove any remaining ice crystals or slime. Pat dry with clean paper towels before using.
You will need to create multiple layers of crab legs, but these layers should at least be even. Due to the shape of the crab legs, an oval slow cooker usually works better than a round one. You only need enough water to cover the crabs. Too little or too much could be result in crab legs that are too dry or not sufficiently heated.
If you prefer a stronger garlic taste, you can use 4 cloves of minced garlic instead of concentrated garlic powder. Since the crab legs are being cooked slowly, the flavors of the seasonings have a greater opportunity to permeate the thick shell of the legs and flavor the meat beneath.
Try to spread the butter over as many of the crab legs as possible. You can toss them to coat the crab more thoroughly, but this is not necessary.
It you did not have time to thaw your crab legs and are cooking them straight from a frozen state, add another 30 minutes to the cooking time.
If desired, you can serve the crab legs with additional melted butter or lemon wedges.
The recommended thawing method takes much longer. Place the crab legs in the refrigerator and let them defrost from a frozen state for 8 hours or overnight. While the microwave can be used to cook the crab legs, it is not recommended for the purpose of thawing the seafood.
If you cannot arrange all the crab legs in a single, you may want to cook them in separate batches. You could arrange them in multiple even layers, but if you do this, you will need to toss them with a fork once or twice in the middle of the cooking cycle to ensure even cooking. A glass casserole dish with a lid is a standard choice, but any microwave-safe container will suffice.
For this recipe, which uses 3 lbs (1350 g) of crab legs, you will need to add 6 Tbsp (180 ml) of water. It is better to use warm to hot water instead of cool water.
For 3 lbs (1350 g) of crab legs, microwave on 100 percent power for 18 to 24 minutes. You may need to stir or shift around the crab legs in the middle of the cooking process to promote even cooking.
