Grilled Crab Legs Recipe
Crab legs are a delightful meal. They are filling enough to eat by themselves, or you can pair them with fish for a scrumptious seafood feast. The good news is you don’t need to head into a fancy restaurant to experience stunning crab legs. You can cook them from the comfort of your own home. Here’s an easy recipe to follow.
Create Garlic Butter Seasoning
To get the best flavor from your crab legs, you will need to add a little garlic butter. You should be able to find a pre-made garlic butter mix in your local supermarket. But it’s easy to make it yourself. You just need a handful of ingredients, these are:
- 4 tablespoons of chopped basil
- 2 juiced lemons
- 2 tablespoons of sweet rub. You can follow this recipe to make it.
- 8 cloves of finely chopped garlic
- 1 cup of butter
All you need to do is melt the butter. Then, mix in the ingredients.
How Many Crab Legs?
How many crab legs you need to use will depend on how many people you plan on serving. You should aim for one to two pounds of crab legs per person. This recipe will use six pounds of crab legs and serve four people. If you have a larger party you can scale it up or down accordingly.
Preparing the Crab Legs
The good news is that grilling crab legs doesn’t have to be difficult. You just need to make sure that you are preparing everything properly. The type of crab leg you are using doesn’t matter too much. Though King Crab and Dungeness varsities will work very well.
Once you have selected your crab legs it’s time to split them. You will need to use a pair of kitchen shears to do this. This article details how you can do this. Or you can choose a fishmonger that sells legs that have already been split.
Next, you will need to rub the garlic sauce on the crab legs. You want to use about half of the sauce. The rest will be drizzled over the crab legs when it comes time to eat. Use a spoon to make sure that the sauce gets into the split between the legs.
Grilling the Crab Legs
There are a few ways that you can cook crab legs. Some people prefer to boil or steam them. But it’s best to opt to grill them. This will allow you to get a char on the meat, imparting a richer flavor. If you want, you can even use a smoker to add a more layered taste. The good news is that grills and smokers will be able to be used in a range of contexts. To see what is available, check out this list of electric smokers.
Once you’ve found the right grill for you, it’s time to fire it up and start cooking. You will need to preheat it to 225 degrees Fahrenheit (107 degrees Celsius). Once it reaches the right temperature, put the crab legs in. You will need to put them shell side down.
Now shut the lid and leave them to cook. They will take 10 to 30 minutes. If you have a modern grill, you might even have an app that allows you to monitor the cooking process remotely. To see when the crab legs are cooked you just need to look at the meat. It will turn a reddish-orange color.
Serve and Enjoy
Once the crab legs are finished, it’s time to take them off the grill and serve. You don’t need to do a lot to create a beautiful crab leg meal. All you need to do is take some garlic butter sauce and sprinkle it over the top of the legs. You can also sprinkle a slice of lemon over the legs.
If you want to create a meal, there are lots of pairings you can explore. You can put it with fish or other seafood. Or you can scoop out the crab meat and use it to make seafood salad.
Conclusion
Crab legs are a delicious family meal, which is relatively easy to make. It will take just a few minutes to prepare and cook. So, try following this recipe and enjoy eating a deliciously juicy crab leg for dinner tonight.