King Crab

The hardest part of making crab is getting the crab. This is one of the wonderful benefits about living in Alaska - there is crab everywhere!

So you've managed to hunt down some crab - hopefully red King, though golden is acceptable. Dungeness and snow also work, and may be easier to find depending on where you live. You have crab, of one kind or another... but it's frozen, big, and prickly. Now what?

It's really quite simple.

You'll need to plan ahead, so that you can thaw your legs out in the refrigerator. This takes about a day. Once the legs are nicely thawed, preheat the oven to 350. Wrap the legs in tinfoil, leaving a small hole at the top. Use this hole to add about a quarter cup of water. Cover the hole with additional tinfoil. Pop them in the oven for about 15 minutes and you should be ready to go!

Some people advocate salting the legs before heating. I consider this unnecessary. The poor animal has been swimming in an ocean his whole life - he already has plenty of salt!

Remember, frozen crab legs have already been cooked. All you are doing is heating them up. Once the meat is warm to the touch, they're done.

For ease of eating, run your kitchen shears along one side of the leg, slicing it open. Serve with rice and melted butter.