Community Pick
Crabs - Garlic Butter Baked Crab Legs
"I have tried and tried again to re-create the garlic butter crab legs that taste like the crabs from my favorite crab joint-The Crab House on Pier 39 in San Francisco. I have finally done it!"
photo by Jonathan Melendez
- Ready In:
- 35mins
- Ingredients:
- 8
- Serves:
-
2
ingredients
- 2 lbs king crab legs
- 1⁄2 cup butter (salted or unsalted)
- 1⁄2 head garlic, about 5 garlic cloves, minced pressed
- 1⁄2 lemon, juice of
- 1⁄2 lime, juice of
- 1⁄8 cup extra virgin olive oil
- sea salt (optional)
- dried parsley (optional)
directions
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Meanwhile, grab yourself a small saucepan. On med low heat, melt the butter. Add the garlic (I prefer a press) and LIGHTLY saute. Squeeze in the juice of the citrus of choice. If using a lemon, squeeze the juice into your hands so that you can remove the seeds with ease. Turn the heat to low and let those flavors mesh until the oven is nice and hot. Toss in as much salt (to taste) and a couple pinches of parsley. Then whisk in that olive oil with a fork. Turn off your burner.
- Arrange your tasty crustaceans in a 9x13 baking dish, brushing each leg with the sauce. ***TASTY TIP*** I use an injector to pop a *little* extra UMPH into my crabs. Pour any remaining sauce over those puppies. Now toss the pan into the oven on the center rack.
- Bake your crabs for about 25 minutes or so (depending on how thick the legs you have are), brushing the sauce from the bottom of the pan onto the legs every 5-7 minutes. Remove from oven. Sprinkle with a few pinches o' parsley for garnish.
- I am a lazy gal, detest doing more dishes than I have to, and am a firm believer in the "waste not, want not" phrase. With that said, I just serve the crab in the same dish I baked it in so I can dip the meat into the tasty sauce, savoring every last drop. If you are the opposite, use tongs and place them on a platter and pour the buttery-goodness into ramekins. VOILA! Crab House comparable delicacy! "Ohhhh my CRAAAABS!
Questions & Replies
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I bought King crab already cooked and thawed. Does the recipe call for fresh crab legs or can they be already cooked and can you bake 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes? -
Are the crab legs frozen or defrosted for this recipe -
Also, do I put them in the oven frozen or thawed?
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Should I thaw the crab legs before baking them ?
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Do I take the crab legs out of the shell before I bake them or bake them while still in the shell I'm using the garlic baked king crab legs recipe and wasn't sure if I should take them out of shell before baking them since there is a butter sauce you bake them in
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Reviews
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I have made at least ten trays since coming across your recipe! My friends have always said I was nuts for baking over steaming but soon change there mind after tasting these. Thank you for posting your recipe these are my new favorite for sure! -
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Absolutely amazing! My wife was all against baking them over boiling so I split the legs and boiled some and baked some. She wouldn't even stop eating the baked ones to try the boiled ones. Now it's her favorite way to have them. Amazing recipe.
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This recipe is fantastic!!! I will admit I was a little skepital on baking instead of steaming. But these turned out perfect. We made it with snow crab legs and the 25 min. was spot on. I also love the butter sauce. It was the perfect blend of garlic, butter and citrus. I will be adding this to our family recipe file as our go to crab leg recipe. Thanks for sharing!! -
First time I have done crab legs in the oven. They turned out so delicious that we didn't even have to dip them in the butter. Everyone loved them. They were so easy to do. I will definitely be doing them this way from now on.
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I didn't believe the unanimous 5 star rating for this recipe. After making this for dinner tonight.... I'm a believer!!! It is perfect as is. I will never boil crab legs again.
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Tweaks
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I like to use oven bags!! Helps with clean up too! Place them in oven or turkey bags (two) zip each bag up and put it in a dish in the oven !! Best thing ever !!!!
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Omitted the lime.
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This recipe is amazing!! First time that I have made King Crab legs. And since I only had 1.5 pounds of legs, I cooked for 20 minutes. I read most of the other reviews and substituted salt with Old Bay seasoning, only used lemon juice and used scissors to open the legs. This was so easy that I will be making this a staple in my food plan. Happy 2018! -
I used straight from the freezer crab legs and added ~12 minutes to my cooking time. Turned out perfectly delicious.
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New way of cooking crab legs!!!!!!!!!. I am mother of 4 kids w a husband who loves seafood. I googled crab leg seasoning and found this. I used garlic salt instead of garlic cloves and added shrimp and corn in the pan. Needless to say I ate standing up. Joes crab shack for what?? We are eating in!!!
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
I am originally from Phoenix, AZ but relocated to LA a year ago.
I don't eat to live, I live to eat. I dine out regularly, and be sure to eat at the top rated restaurants in every city I travel to. My favorite styles of food to eat are Thai and Korean.
I love to cook. Always have. I bake cakes about once a week. I want to say thanks to everyone on this site for trying the recipes I post, and for sharing yours with me!
