Cooking Alaskan King Crab Legs

For all its elegance and glamour, the tastiest seafood recipes are incredibly simple to prepare; however, fish, shellfish and crustaceans are also easy to overdo. There's no bigger letdown than putting a beautiful platter of Alaskan king crab legs onto the table before your eager guests only to find out the once-juicy meat is dry and the sweet flavor is irretrievably dulled; the flakey, meaty texture you expected is replaced by a rubbery mouth-feel.

Overcooking has ruined many a fresh catch. We at Island Seafoods want you to experience our quality Alaskan king crabs as they are meant to be enjoyed: cooked to perfection. So, we're offering up a few simple serving suggestions to help you get the most delicious results possible.

Steaming is probably the most popular cooking method for crustaceans, because it is least likely to result in overcooking or leach flavor from the meat. In general, boil about two cups of water per serving if using a pot with a lid; place Alaskan king crab legs in a steaming basket over the boiling water so the vapors can circulate under, over and around them for proper heating. Steam just until the legs are red and lose their opacity - about 10-15 minutes, depending on how many you're steaming - and not a moment longer. If immersion cooking is your preferred method, salt the water (if you can float a raw egg, the water is salty enough) and follow the same guidelines for doneness. Whatever your preferred technique, briefly dunk the freshly cooked catch in cold water afterwards to halt the cooking process.

Presentation of Alaskan King Crabs

The beauty of this majestic animal is that it comes in a gorgeous, crimson package that needs very little dressing up on its way to the dinner table. But, if you do want to put a bit more dramatic punch into the presentation, consider arranging jumbo Alaskan king crabs vertically on a platter with the drawn butter bowl at the center to take advantage of the dramatic height.