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How to Cook Crab Legs on the Gas Grill

Have you Ever Tried to Grill Crab Legs?

Grilled Crab Legs is such a treat in the summer, this foolproof recipe is so easy and works with king crab legs, Dungeness crab legs, and snow crab legs!

Grilling is not a traditional method to cook crab legs, but it is indeed a quick and easy way to make this delicious meal. Crab legs do not take much time to cook, you can also buy cooked legs or grill them first. You can grill on a charcoal or gas grill; a gas grill gives you better temperature control, but charcoal adds a smoky flavor

How to Choose the Best Crab Legs

Crabs come in many varieties and sizes, so do their leg vary in size as well. A bigger crab leg is easier to extract and eat the crabmeat. It is easy to grill larger crab legs because they are easy to grab with the tongs and turn than smaller legs. . Alaskan king crabs, snow crabs, and Dungeness crabs all have large legs with lots of meat. King and snow crab legs are often sold frozen. Blue crabs are smaller in size and have less meat in their legs

How to Prepare Crab Legs for Grilling

If you have a gas grill then preheat the grill temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. If you have frozen crabs then take the bag out of the freezer and let it defrost in cold water or just on the counter while grill heats.  Frozen crab legs don’t need to be completely thawed before you grill them; they warm up fast and they’re already cooked.

How to Season Crab Legs

Crab leg meat dipped in melted butter is simple and delicious, but you don’t have to stop there when it comes to seasoning crab legs on the grill. If you cut the crab legs lengthwise it will allow you to season them directly and also makes the meat easier to remove. Add any seafood seasoning or make your own marinade and baste the crabmeat with it while cooking.

How to cook crab legs on the gas grill

  •  PREP TIME:15 mins
  • COOK TIME:15 mins
  • TOTAL TIME:30 mins
  • YIELD: 4 SERVINGS
  • COURSE: Appetizer, Dinner
  • CUISINE: American

Ingredients Required

  • 4lbs frozen king, snow, or Dungeness crab legs, thawed and rinsed
  • olive oil spray
  • lemon wedges
  • melted butter, optional for dipping

Instructions to Follow

Step 1- Heat grill to medium-high.

Step 2-Spritz crab legs all over with olive oil spray and place on hot grill.

Step 3-Cover and cook about 7 minutes on each side, or until the meat in the center is heated through.

Step 4-Use a sharp paring knife (and a mitt or glove to handle) and cut slits along the side so it’s easy to pull the meat out.

Step 5-Remove to plates and serve with lemon wedges and melted butter, if desired.

How can we Grill Frozen Steak

There are two ways to grill frozen steak.

Option 1-Grill Steak Using Aluminum Foil

Wrap the leg clusters in a heavy duty aluminum foil you can do it individually or wrap all in one large foil pack. Double the foil if the steak is pointy and will poke through, Grill using indirect medium high heat for 10 minutes for individually wrapped clusters. Grill 15 minutes for multiple legs. Then move them over the heat for 3 to 5 minutes per side. You can remove them from the foil for this step if you want. Wrapping them up in foil is essentially steaming them. They will turn out just like they would in your kitchen.

Option 2-Heat Steak Directly on the Gas Grill.

The second option is to heat them up directly on your grill grates. This is the method we prefer. The shells are hard surfaces so ignore any web sites that tell you to oil them first. I have never had them stick. Start them off over low or indirect heat until the joints begin to move freely, about 5 to 8 minutes depending on size. Then move to medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes. Try to keep the small tips of the legs as far off the heat as possible, while trying to keep the claw and thicker parts of the legs on the heat

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: Do we need to defrost crab legs before grilling?

Ans: Nope! Just like if you were to steam them on the stove, the crab legs go on the grill frozen.

Q2:How do we know when the crab legs are done?

Ans: When you crack open the legs, the meat should be orange-red in color. If it’s still greyish, cook them for another minute or two.

Q3: How do crab legs taste grilled?

Ans: SO GOOD! Honestly, they just have an added smoky grill flavor to the normal sweet crabmeat. Dipped in butter – OMG, you’ll love this fun way to cook crab legs!

Q4: What should I serve with king crab legs?

Ans: We all love grilled corn! But you could also serve roasted potatoes and rolls with butter as well. Here are some of our favorite side dish recipes for more ideas. Like Dell cucumber salad, Calico baked beans, Creamy dill potato salad, Corn and Black bean salad don’t forget the melted butter for dipping the crab meat!

To Wrap it Up

Grilled crap is like a treat that we all love to have. We all know that sweet and savoy king crab legs are delicious to eat and indeed it is a delicacy for us. Griiling a crab leg is alternative of boiling it but grilled crab has a smoky texture. Also it is recommended to warp the crab legs in an aluminuim foil before grilling it as the smoke will penetrate till the hard texture of shells.

it is easy to grill the crab rather then boiling it as boiling is a time consuming process. However, grilling is more fun to do. Imagine your background filled with smoky air and then you get tasty grilled crab legs to eat. Also it will be entertaining to grill the crab legs with friends.


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