How do you cook frozen king crab legs and for how long?

The big question is whether the crab legs are cooked or are raw.





They are probably cooked as I have yet to see a frozen, uncooked crab. If the crab is cooked, the top of the shell on the legs will be a nice red color and the bottom a nice white. If they are raw, the top of the leg shell will be kind of a bluish/gray color and the bottoms are still white(ish).





I'll assume they are cooked.





If they are cooked, you can literally thaw them and eat them. Personally, I like cold king crab. If you do this, I'd put them in the fridge to thaw at least 24 hours before you plan on eating them (48 is better).





If you want the crab meat hot, then you literally want to just heat the meat. You want water involved otherwise the meat might dry out and be tough.





If the legs are small enough, I just put them in a pot of salted water (about 1 inch of water) and put the lid on. I boil the legs for about 10 minutes. Some people like to put Old Bay seasoning in the water. I don't mind this for snow crab, but I think it ruins King Crab.





If you don't have a pot big enough to boil them, you can steam them in the oven. I put them on a cookie sheet with sides on it. I put the legs in there with water (not much...make sure you won't spill when you take them out...been there, done that). Make a tent over the pan with Aluminum foil to keep the steam in (if you don't, the water will evaporate and the meat will dry out). When using the oven, there isn't a real science to it. I usually just put the legs in with whatever else I am cooking (say 350 to 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes).





If the legs are still raw, either method should work just fine. Just cook the crab until the shell turns a nice redish color on top.





Above all, don't overseason King Crab. King Crab is sweet and great tasting by itself (maybe with some ghee or regular melted butter). All I use is a little salt in the water.|||I was told by a crab fisherman that you should boil them for 7 minutes. No more, no less. He ate them almost every day.|||We just steam ours for about 12 minutes. They come out so tender and sweet and juicy.|||The legs I buy are frozen but already cooked. I get a roasting pan and wrap the legs in aluminum foil (you may have to take two pieces and put them together to make a large one). Then bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 - 45 minutes (maybe longer). You need to check them (by touch) to make sure they are heated enough. I've baked them for the entire 45 minutes only to find that the ones in the middle are still lukewarm.|||Just steam them in a huge pot over boiling/simmering water until thawed and hot through. They've been cooked already; you are merely thawing and heating them up.





I use a big oval roaster/lid, and put a ocuple inches of water in it, bring to a boil, and set a wire cooling rack on top, set the legs on that, then cover w/ the lid. Keeps them from getting soggy in the water, and since the steam is hotter than the water that makes it, it's a more effective way to cook.|||some packages say cook from frozen, other say to thaw first. I always thaw them in cold water for for a little while, then just throw them in a pot of boiling, salted, seasoned water, to which I add the juice of half a lemon. Boil for about 5 minutes is all they need. Call me when they are done, and I will bring fresh made cocktail sauce and a bottle of wine..........|||In hot water there are different times you can cook it.|||Drop them in boiling water and pull them out right as the water returns to a boil.|||The crab legs are already cooked, so you just have to thaw and heat them up. I put them in boiling water, with a some lemon juice and garlic pepper for seasoning, for about 5-7 minutes. Enjoy!