Oven Baked King Crab Legs
Indulge in the deliciousness of easy baked king crab legs in the oven steamed in wine and dipped in creamy garlic butter. A date night masterpiece!
Servings: 2 main course servings
Calories: 704kcal
Ingredients
- 3 pounds king crab legs and claws thawed
- ⅓ cup dry white wine
- 1 large lemon sliced thinly
Garlic Butter Seafood Sauce
- 9 tablespoon unsalted butter cold and cut into nine equal pieces
- ¼ cup white wine
- ½ shallot grated
- 2-3 garlic cloves grated
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- Zest of 1 lemon
- ¼ cup chicken broth
- 3 tablespoon lemon juice
- ½ cup heavy cream
- Kosher Salt and freshly cracked black Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
- Place the crab legs, white wine, and lemons into your baking dish or a rimmed baking sheet. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and place into your preheated oven on the middle rack.
- Bake the crab legs for 15 minutes, or until the king crab shells are hot to the touch.
- Remove from the oven and serve hot with the creamy butter sauce.
- Make the Garlic Butter Sauce
- In a medium sized saucepan, melt one tablespoon of butter over medium heat with the wine, grated shallots, grated garlic, fresh thyme, and lemon zest. Sauté for 1 to 2 minutes, it should be very fragrant.
- Whisk in the chicken broth and lemon juice, let the mixture reduce down until there's about 3 tablespoons of liquid remaining.
- Add the cream and turn the heat up to medium-high. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to low.
- Whisking constantly, add the rest of the cold butter ONE tablespoon at a time, whisking until each one is incorporated completely before adding the next one.
- Continue adding in all the butter, by the time the last tablespoon is done the sauce should be creamy and coat the back of a spoon.
- Let sit at low heat, stirring occasionally, until ready to serve with the crab legs.
Notes
Variations and Substitutions
Grill crab legs - place the crab legs in a hot grill, pour the wine and lemons into a grill-safe pan to keep the steam going. Swap wine for other flavorings - use chicken broth, citrus juices, beer, whatever you want to infuse flavor into the crab legs. You can also just use some water so the crab's natural flavor isn't changed.Pro Tips
Don't overcook the crab - dried out crab is not good, and overcooking makes the meat tough. We are simply rewarming the crab since they're already cooked. Crackers and Shears - this is not the time to use your hands or teeth to open the shells. The shells on a king crab are much, much thicker than the others with sharp spikes. Have plenty of tools for everyone to use. Break the legs apart to cook - if you need to. They're huge, they need a lot of room, so break them at the joints.Nutrition
Serving: 1g | Calories: 704kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 132g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 361mg | Sodium: 7297mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g