Wednesday, April 14, 2010

EAAASY Garlic Butter Crab Legs!


                  There is something so comforting in crab legs. lol. I don't know if it's because it takes sooo damn long to get to that succulent meat that you savor it more, or that the juices get all over your fingers and you're just so happy to get messy and lick all that butter up....well...I am at least. ha ha. Out of all seafood, crab legs are my favorite! When I was 7 we went to a family reunion in Maryland.  Being so young I didn't know they we're known for their crab! I remember walking out to the back porch and I saw TONS of boxes by the tables, I was thinking "what the heck are we eating?"...I walked closer and saw hundreds of blue crabs. I didn't want to try it. Seeing a hard rock with claws wasn't very appealing to a 7 yr. old. My mom of course had to crack them for me and immediately I saw the poop and guts...umm...yeah mom, that will make me want to eat it!!...NOT!. She then cracked a leg for me and it was heaven in my mouth and down hill from there! I probably had her crack the legs off of twenty crabs!! From then on we went to the seafood markets every couple months and LOAD up on crabs, and of course my mommy would do all the hard work for her daughter and gave me the best part...that succulent crab meat!! I prefer crab legs for the obvious reason, MORE MEAT!! I used snow crab because my ass can't afford king crab legs. lol. But for those of you who can, more power to you. My husband loves crab legs just as much as me so last year I thought I'd treat us at home instead of paying $20 for 1 pound at a restaurant!. I asked around at work how to cook crab legs and everyone said steam them with old bay. I don't have a pot big enough to fit the legs so I messed around with baking them. Soo glad I did, it's so simple, quick and Deeelish! I use this mix every time I make them now! recipe as follows.

BUTTERY GARLIC SNOW CRAB LEGS

2 pounds snow crab legs
1 tsp lemon juice (or more to your liking)
1 stick of unsalted butter
3 cloves of garlic minced
parsley flakes (I just eye ball how much I want)
1 tsp kosher salt

For those of you who are cooking challenged, an easy way to get the skin off of garlic is to lay your chopping knife over it and smash it with the palm of your hand.   The skin peels right off...just a tip.

1. Melt butter, garlic, salt, parsley flakes and lemon juice in pan over low medium heat.

 2. Meanwhile cut a slit in the crab legs with a sharp knife from end to end. This will help the butter garlic mixture soak into the crab meat and be extra juicy!!
3. Once you are done, go ahead and take your butter garlic mixture if it's fully melted and brush all over the legs, pour remaining mix on top.

 Bake in oven at 325 for about 20 minutes, turning them at the halfway point. If your legs feel hot and are starting to dry out, go ahead and remove them. Serve with melted butter on the side if desired.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for this quick and easy recipe. I haven't tried it yet but I will be later on today...wish me luck!