Steamed Crab Legs

Everyone at the table will love these steamed crab legs! It's a rich and decadent recipe, yet simple to make at home.

Course Appetizer, Appetizer or main, Main, Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword boiled crab legs recipe, Crab legs, King crab legs, snow crab legs, steamed crab legs

Prep Time 0

Cook Time 5

Total Time 30

Servings servings

Calories 315kcal

Author Isabel Laessig

Ingredients

3 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 12 oz can light beer
2 lbs frozen crab legs (thawed or partially thawed)
6-8 corn cob halves (optional)

For Flavored Butter

1 stick butter, melted
½ teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 pinch salt
or garlic butter recipe

Instructions

Fill a large stock pot about a quarter full with water (leaving plenty of room for the crab legs) and bring to a boil.
Add Old Bay seasoning, salt, vegetable oil, and beer.
Add crab legs and return to a boil. Steam crab legs for 5 minutes.
Carefully remove crab legs and set aside. Cover to keep warm.
Optional: Add frozen corn cobs in same pot and bring to a boil. Remove. Serve everything warm with lemon butter sauce.

For Lemon Butter Sauce

Melt butter and add garlic salt, lemon juice, and salt.

Video

Notes

TIP—Crab leg cracker: If you bought your crab legs pre-scored, you can easily remove the meat from them by prying them open with your hands. Otherwise, you can crack them carefully by hand or use a crab leg cracker such as a lobster cracker, nutcracker, or even a meat tenderizer.

Carefully crack the crab legs with your tool of choice to avoid breaking too much of the shell and getting shell pieces in your crab meat. Once you have the crab legs open, you can easily remove the meat with a fork.

Nutrition