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This Grilled Crab Legs recipe with Garlic Butter Sauce is the best way to cook crab legs! 🔥 You will love these luscious, tender crab legs and garlicky butter sauce for dipping. It’s a delicious pairing unlike any other!
Best Crab Legs
Honestly, grilling crab legs is simple to do and so worth it for the incredible flavor. BBQ crab legs are my favorite and paired with that incredible garlic butter dip, you just can’t go wrong.
Equipment for Grilling King Crab Legs
- A grill
- A bowl with a spoon to mix garlic butter sauce
- Tongs
Grilling out is one of my favorite pastimes. My family knows where to find me when summer rolls around: outside spending quality time with my grill! When it comes to cooking, there is almost nothing I could say I love more than grilling recipes.
These Grilled Crab Legs really take the cake. Crab leg recipes are some of my favorites (I love Steamed Crab Legs!), but they’re even better on the grill! Especially when you pair them with garlic butter sauce for crab legs or our Creamy Lemon Butter Sauce Recipe.
Grilled Crab Legs Ingredients
- king crab legs or snow crab legs
- garlic butter sauce or Creamy Lemon Butter Sauce
- Lemon wedges (optional)
After mixing my garlic butter sauce, I like to use my remaining parsley to top the grilled king crab legs with along with a squeeze of lemon juice. I find it adds an extra layer of flavor that is just irresistible.
I like to use king crab legs, but you can use any type of crab you prefer for this grilled crab legs recipe.
How to Grill Crab Legs
- Preheat your grill to medium.
- Split 3 pounds of crab legs and place them on a baking sheet split-side up.
- Combine the ingredients to make garlic butter sauce in a bowl using a spoon. Use melted butter so you have a sauce.
- Gently spoon the garlic butter over the meat of the crab legs. Reserve additional butter for serving after grilling crab legs.
- Place the split crab legs on the grill, shell-side down. Close the lid and grill for approximately 10 minutes or until the crab is cooked through. Crab leg meat is cooked when it is reddish-orange and opaque.
- Remove from the grill and serve with the delicious garlic butter sauce and fresh lemon wedges. Enjoy!
Easy, right? Once you know how to cook king crab legs on the grill, I guarantee you’re going to want to make them this way every time. The flavor of the crab meat with the garlic butter sauce is just incredible.
What to Serve with King Crab Legs
There is nothing better than a Surf and Turf combination. It is the ultimate combination of flavors!
My favorite pairings for crab legs are:
How to Reheat Cooked Crab Legs
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Fill a casserole dish with approximately ½ inch of water.
- Place the crab legs in the dish.
- Cover the casserole dish with aluminum foil and poke holes on top to let out the steam .
- Bake for 10 minutes.
- Serve with garlic butter and enjoy!
King Crab Recipe FAQs
Set your grill to medium. Medium is about 350°F (depending on your grill) and is the perfect temperature to grill crab legs. Crab legs on the grill will cook in about 10 minutes and have a delicious flavor!
If you use frozen crab legs, let them thaw in cold water or simply leave them out at room temperature while your grill heats up. They can still be a little frozen when you grill them.
To split the shell, simply cut them lengthwise with kitchen shears to open up the leg and reveal the meat on one side. Cut through the whitish part of the shell – this part is softer
Cooked grilled crab legs will have a reddish-orange tint with pearly white, opaque meat. Overcooked crab begins to turn pink and becomes rubbery, so be careful not to leave them on the grill for too long. 10 minutes should be enough time.
Crab is a keto-friendly food. Paired with the garlic butter sauce, this is a superstar of a low-carb recipe!
Crab legs are not only gluten-free, but are generally very good for you. The garlic butter sauce in this recipe is also gluten-free, so this is a perfect recipe for a gluten-free meal plan.
You can store them in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Have a question that isn’t listed here? Ask us in the comments or contact us by email! We will get back to you as soon as possible and always love to hear from you.
Side Dishes for Crabs
I love dipping them in Remoulade Sauce Recipe! It is an amazing combination of flavors!!
Best Seafood Recipes
- Shrimp Bisque Recipe – this is on my holiday list every year!
- Shrimp Shumai
- Lobster Ravioli
- Chinese Shrimp Recipe
And of course, try my recipe for Boiled Crab Legs! They are just as delicious with garlic butter sauce on the side and are easy to cook on your stove.
Try more of our best Seafood Appetizers!
Grilled Crab Legs with Garlic Butter Sauce
Equipment
- Grill
Ingredients
- 3 pounds king crab legs
- 1 serving garlic butter sauce recipe
Instructions
- Preheat your grill to medium.Split the shells of 3 pounds of crab legs and place them on a baking sheet split-side up.
- Combine the ingredients to make garlic butter sauce in a bowl using a spoon. Use melted butter so you have a sauce.
- Gently spoon the garlic butter over the meat of the crab legs. Reserve additional butter for serving after grilling crab legs.
- Place the split crab legs on the grill, shell-side down. Close the lid and grill for approximately 10 minutes or until the crab is cooked through. Crab leg meat is cooked when it is reddish-orange and opaque.
- Remove from the grill and serve with the delicious garlic butter sauce and fresh lemon wedges. Enjoy!
Notes
- Make sure to reserve additional garlic butter after spooning it onto the crab meat so you have extra to serve the grilled king crab legs with when they’re done grilling. It is just so flavorful!
- I love to grill crab legs along with beef for a surf and turf pairing. My favorite choice has to be either Grilled Beef Short Ribs or Portuguese Beef Skewers!
Let us know what you think or ask a question about the recipe!