How to Heat Frozen Crab Legs

The meat of king crabs is mostly in their legs; they're often pre-cooked and sold frozen. For the easiest feast of crab you can have, just thaw them and heat them up. You can also use the thawed crab meat in recipes: see the related eHows for some examples.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Shallow Baking Pans
• Lemons
• Frozen King Crab Legs
• Butter

1. Place the crab legs on a rack over a watertight pan, cover with plastic wrap and allow to thaw completely in the refrigerator, about a day or two.

2. If you have a steamer big enough to accomodate the crab legs, assemble it and bring the water to a simmer. Steam the crab legs for about 5 minutes, or until they are heated through.

3. If you don't have a steamer, heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place legs in shallow baking pan on a rack and roast for about 5 minutes.

4. Serve the legs with lemon wedges, cocktail sauce and melted butter, or use the meat as called for in your favorite recipe.

Tips & Warnings

• Thawing the crab legs in the refrigerator is safer than letting them thaw at room temperature. Some people thaw them in the microwave or as part of the reheating process, but this can often lead to overcooking.

• Add garlic or minced fresh tarragon to the melted butter for extra flavor.