Edible crabs, Cook Crabs, King Crab Legs, Live crab

Natural sweet crab meat dipped in

melted butter with lemon juice.

It just doesn't get any better for

us crab lovers.

Rinse Wash and Brush Scrub Crab Legs

and Claws.

Heat Frozen Unthawed Pre-Cooked Crab Legs by Steaming:

Place pre-cooked frozen crab legs in a vegetable

steamer or colander over heavy and rapid boiling

water (fill pot about 1/3 of the way with water.)

Cover tightly and steam them 10-12 minutes

until heated through and through.

Pre-cooked crab legs can be eaten cold without

cooking otherwise they just need heating without

further cooking. Other heating methods besides

steaming will result in moisture loss in the crab meat

thereby drying it out.

If you do not have a vegetable steamer or colander, in a large deep pot, add only 2-3 cups of water and bring to a full boil, place the precooked frozen crab legs and claws into the pot and keep adding small amounts of water as it evaporates, keep it steaming. This takes a bit longer to thaw and heat your crab. The purpose is to steam them without submerging and boiling them in deep water.

Seafood requires a shorter cooking time than beef, lamb or chicken and because most species of seafood have a low fat and high water content they can easily be overcooked. The good news is.. Pre-cooked shellfish can be eaten cold, warm or hot. Even, too much steaming will toughen the flesh as it dries out making the meat harder to get out and too much cooking when submerged in water will make the flesh soggy.

Here’s what you should know; frozen precooked crab legs are a simple entree to make.

Just heat and serve. For freshness and for safety reasons always buy pre-cooked frozen crab legs and claws. If the crab legs and claws are thawed out in the seafood counter don’t buy them. Ask for frozen ones, get them home quick while still frozen and put them in your freezer until you are ready to eat them. Seeing as the crab legs are cooked and commercially frozen you can take advantage of buying crab when on sale from a supplier. Many shellfish process centers cook and freeze the crab legs before distribution. They are shipped frozen, arrive to supermarkets or fish markets frozen. If you do have thawed unfrozen precooked crab legs, the crab should be cooked within a day or less of purchase and they have already lost some flavor.

There are many varieties of crabs but most common to purchase for quality and goodness are the brown crab which is a species of crab local to Europe and is mainly consumed in European countries along with the spider crab, due its sweet flavored meat found in its legs and claws.

In the US and Canada, species such as the large and meaty Dungeness crab, small but succulent blue crab, king crab, which yields lots of tender snowy white meat and snow crab are prevalent and popular.

HOW TO COOK FROZEN UN-COOKED CRAB LEGS

Boiling - Boiling crab legs is easy, some prefer to add either 1 tablespoon salt or 1 tablespoon vinegar to the water. Fill a pot approximately ½ to 2/3 full of water depending on the number of crab legs to be cooked.

Bring water to a heavy boil. Place uncooked crab legs into the boiling water and allow the water to return to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook them approximately 20-25 minutes.

Serve with clarified melted butter and lemon wedges or cocktail sauce.

Clarified Butter - Better Restaurants serve Clarified Butter as a dipping for Seafood's such as Lobster, Crab Meat, etc. Clarified Butter is less apt to give your stomach a greasy after effect as melted regular butter could.

Clarified Butter (A.K.A.: Ghee)

Instructions:

Place butter in a saucepan, melt and bring to a boil under moderate heat, watch carefully, as soon as the froth on the surface starts to disperse, remove from heat and allow to cool. Skim off the froth (it is fat) and discard. Pour into a jar but not the sediment on the bottom of pan.

Unlike butter or margarine, clarified butter will keep almost indefinitely unrefrigerated.

Serve your crab dinner with a fresh garden salad adding your favorite salad dressing or serve with a side dish of Cole slaw, baked potato and sliced Italian bread.

Baked Potato: Cold water rinse wash the potatoes

while scrubbing the skins with a soft brush.

Bake them in oven at 400F until done or a fork

inserted in them goes in very easy.

To serve, use a small knife to cut a cross on top.

With fingers; push sides and ends inwards to fluff

it open. Lightly mash with a fork then sprinkle with

a little salt then sprinkle on some mild shredded cheddar cheese.

Let potato set while cheese melts then top with a tablespoon of sour cream, sprinkle on some fresh chopped chives, chopped garden onion stems or paprika spice then serve.

Some of these edible crabs are very expensive:

Pie crust crab.

Chinese mitten crab.

Coconut crab.

Dungeness crab.

Soft-shell - blue crab.

Jonah crab.

Horsehair crab.

Florida stone crab.

Red Frog Crab.

Bairdi crab - Snow Shoe crab. Brown Crab

European Spider Crab.