Count yourself lucky if you find live Alaskan king crab, because they are usually only available in Alaska and parts of Canada. You can usually only find the frozen legs in other parts of the country. The freshness will make a difference, however, and the sweet taste and delicate texture of the freshly cooked crab is worth the extra time and effort. If you have cooked fresh crab before, the process for cooking live Alaskan king crab is the same as any other crab: boil them in a big pot of water and crack them open.
Step 1
Fill a large stockpot 3/4 of the way full with water. Bring the water to a full boil.
Step 2
When the water is boiling, plunge the crabs in the pot and cover the pot. If you cannot fit all three crabs in the pot, cook them one at a time. When the water returns to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-high and simmer the crabs for 15 to 20 minutes. The crabs are finished when they have turned bright red.
Step 3
Take the crabs out of the pot with the tongs and allow them to cool until they are easily handled. Twist the claws and legs off the crabs and set them aside. Surprisingly, there is very little meat in the body or the claws, so most people discard these and eat the legs, which is where the majority of the meat is.
Step 4
Split the legs by cutting them open lengthwise with kitchen shears. The diners can remove the meat from their own crab legs. Serve the crab legs as is with individual sides of melted butter for dipping.
Tips and Warnings
- Be sure to purchase a king crab that can fit in your stockpot; some king crab can weigh as much as 25 lbs. and measure 6 feet from tip to tip.
Things You'll Need
- 3 live Alaskan king crabs
- 1/4 lb. butter
- Tongs
- 5 gallon stockpot
References
- "Joy of Cooking"; Irma S. Rombauer, et al.; 1997
- "Kathy Casey's Northwest Table"; Kathy Casey; 2006
- "How to Cook Everything"; Mark Bittman et al.; 2008
- "What's a Cook to Do?" James Peterson; 2007
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