How long to boil crab legs. Not very long. Steaming is a better choice than cooking, but this can be a little tricky in a home setting. Here is the method I’ve used successfully with lobster for years, with a slightly shorter cook time.
Of course, first, thaw the crab legs. Carefully in the refrigerator overnight.
Arrange your thawed crab legs in a heat-resistant container. Bring enough water to a boil to completely cover all of your seafood. (Make sure the water is naturally salted. As a rule of thumb, it should be about as salty as the ocean.) After boiling hard, pour the water over the crab legs and cover tightly with foil (or a lid) Immediately and leave alone for seven minutes, eight minutes if the legs are obese. Take out of the water and eat.
You can optionally add other ingredients to the container with the crab: dill, fennel fronds, coarsely chopped lemons (or any citrus fruit; I love lime with crab), peppercorns, bay leaves, tarragon … the possibilities are functionally endless.
About ten minutes on the hard boil for thawed crabs: How long to boil crab legs
If you’re trying to get a crab cook that’s similar to a lobster cook, except for whole crabs, be sure to thaw the crabs (they should be optimally living when they go in, but this time we can’t, of course, have that) using Daniel’s refrigerator method. It is essential to cook them as close to the dew point as possible as you won’t want more glitches than you already have. Since it’s a boil, you can close it and toss it in if it’s still a little frozen, say five or six hours after you put it in the refrigerator, but no later than 24 hours after that.
Once you get to the point about an hour after you want to eat the crabs, you’ll want to top up a pot of water big enough to hold new potatoes and corn (the little ones that come ahead are great if you don’t put them on I don’t have access to fresh corn and especially your crab. While the water is coming to a boil, you want to get your seasonings ready.
Preference for highly regional water
I won’t tell you how to season this water as this preference is highly regional and usually aided by knives and guns. Still, the two methods I typically do are Old Bay (Baltimore style) or Tony Chachere (fake Cajun style), along with lots of salt and pepper. You want enough seasoning so that the crab is thickly coated when it is dumped. Once your water comes to a boil, add the potatoes. Your corn should go in shortly after, and once your potatoes and corn are done about ten minutes. Leave that crab in there.
Stir well about halfway through the end, ensuring you have a place to get rid of the boiling water. If your pot is small enough, you can just put a Colander in the sink. But if you work for a group of people, the yard works excellent. As long as you keep people away from the part you make it in until it cools down. And you don’t mind having a nasty piece of weed. Once the water is off the crabs. Toss it on a newspaper outdoors or stand on a platter for the table. Serve some French bread, and dig in.
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