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Baked King Crab - King crab is everyone's favorite crustacean and this king crab recipe is baked with Sriracha lemon butter. The crab legs are so juicy, sweet, and perfect for the holidays and special occasions!
King Crab
I love Alaska king crab, especially the meaty, sweet and juicy king crab legs.
With the holiday season coming up, it’s perfect time to head to your nearest Costco and load up pounds of red king crab for Thanksgiving recipes or Christmas holiday parties.
I have the best king crab recipe for you, baked with Sriracha lemon butter. It’s so crazy delicious and mouthwatering you want it every day!
How To Cook King Crab
It’s super easy to make crab legs at home. Most of them are sold as crab legs; they are all pre-cooked and frozen.
All you need is a simple recipe that enhances the natural flavors of the crab. Most people will boil or steam them, and served with melted butter.
To me, boiling or steaming is not the best way to cook king crab because it dilutes the natural, sweet and briny flavors of the crab.
Baking in the oven at high heat brings out mouthwatering aroma of the crab. It also roast the crab meat, remove the extra water content in the frozen crab.
A simple Sriracha lemon butter brings out the natural briny and sweet flavors of the crab meat, while enhancing the flavors. You can also add them to seafood boil. There are just endless possibilities!
Cooking Tips For Alaskan King Crab
- Frozen crabs are always salty so avoid using salt while cooking, boiling, steaming or baking the crab legs.
- Cut or chop the king crab legs into shorter pieces. This makes them easier to eat. The shorter segments are also great for dinner parties.
- For the best oven baked flavors, use a pair of scissors to cut open the top part of the shell as pictured above. This will expose the crab meat for oven roasting. It also allows the butter to sip inside the crab legs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Both crabs are popular crustacean with sweet and delightful leg meat but there are distinct differences between the two species.
Snow crab is much smaller compared to king crab. Snow crab legs have a smooth and softer shell while the latter has a thicker and spiky shell.
You don’t really need a cracking tool to crack open the shells of snow crab as you can snap them open using your hands. Snow crab is also cheaper and less expensive.
Image Credit: Flying43 / Getty Images
This recipe is only 388 calories per serving.
What To Serve With This Recipe
Serve this dish with steak for a homemade surf and turf. For a healthy meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes.
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Baked King Crab Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 lbs (1kg) king crab legs
- 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature and softened
- 1 teaspoon Sriracha
- 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/2 tablespoon sugar
- 3 dashes smoked paprika and more for dusting
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley and/or chives
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F (207°C).
- Cut the king crab legs into shorter segments using a pair of scissors. Cut the crab leg segments lengthwise to expose the crab meat. Alternatively, you can also cut the top part of the shell to expose the crab meat.
- Arrange the king crab legs in a baking tray and bake for 20 minutes. Cover with aluminum foil to avoid drying out the crab.
- In the meantime, make the Sriracha Lemon Butter by whipping the softened butter with a whisk. Add the Sriracha, lemon juice and sugar, whisk to combine well. Set aside.
- As soon as the crab is out of the oven, spoon the butter over the crab meat. Dust with more smoked paprika and garnish with chopped parsley and/or chives. Serve immediately.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Made it for the Superbowl, tasted great! Like the way that the Siracha cuts the richness of the butter!
Awesome!
We tried this recipe as we are a fishmongers and specialise in King crab. It is amazing and now we use it all the time. http://Www.Kingcrab.co.U.K.
Thank you
Do I do this with frozen crab legs or dethawed ones?
Thawed.
I used this recipe to make my king crab tonight. Everyone loved it! I love the simplicity of it, yet it ‘s like a fancy dish! Thanks for posting!
is this for already cooked crab? Im thinking even with foil, it my dry out and texture may be rubbery?
Yes frozen king crab is already cooked. No, it’s not rubbery.
We had it on NY eve. It was very good! I didn’t cut across the legs like she suggested. Instead I just cut open half of the shelf. The crab meat was definitely moist and tasty. Thank you! Wish I can show my picture.
Hi Hanna great that you enjoyed my recipe!! :)
In the future, this is the only way I’ll do King crab legs. Simple, flavorful, and super easy to eat! No cracking, no mess!
Would you recommend a dipping sauce or the butter mixture is plenty?
You don’t need any dipping sauce for this.
Is the dipping sauce actually the butter mixture that you say to spoon over the crab legs when they are removed from the oven?
Hi Jamie, I didn’t mention any dipping sauce in the recipe. It’s the butter mixture that you spoon over the crab legs.
I think Jamie is referring to the fact that in most of your pictures you have a dipping sauce on the pan, and in the video it shows you dipping the crab in a sauce.
Ah thanks. The “sauce” is the Sriracha Lemon Butter in step 4. You can make extra to go with the baked king crab.
when cutting the crab legs, HOW does the scissors go through the thicker legs?
also, . . . are the legs baked FROZEN OR THAWED ?
this recepie is NOT very cler!
You want to bake the legs thawed. One should never bake anything frozen. I used scissors to cut through the thicker part of the legs. You just need a good pair.
How’d you keep the crab mea from drying out during 20mins at 400
Cover with aluminum foil.
To minimize cleaning. I just melt the butter and add the lemon and schriracha to it. I just brush the mixture onto the cooked crab with a silicone brush. For a 2lb, I just used half the recipe.