Beautiful king crab legs smoked over oak and basted in butter and spice mix. The perfect seafood barbecue recipe for the summer, and all year round!
Many of us have seen crab legs on the menu at different restaurants. While these are usually steamed or boiled, we’ll be doing something completely different today. That’s right, we’re going to barbecue smoke these beauties.
Many might argue that the smoke can’t sufficiently penetrate the crab shells, making the effort a waste of time. Nothing could be further from the truth. Once you try smoking these, you’ll never look back.
Snow crab or king crab?
Two of the main types of crab that we use for cooking in North America are Snow and King, with snow crab perhaps being the most common.
Snow crab actually refers to a subtype of crab that comprises seven different species. They typically inhabit the northern, cold oceans, hence their name. Our Canadian friends may also know them as queen crabs.
King crabs are also actually a species of crab, but we mostly use ‘king’ to refer to the red king crab or Alaskan king crab. This one is rarer than snow crabs and thus way more expensive.
Which one to choose?
The snow crab is smaller but has longer legs. Its shell is weaker and easier to crack, in contrast to the spiky and hard shell of the king crab, which will usually require tools to break it open.
When it comes to budget, the snow crab is the way to go. It can be hard to even find somewhere to buy king crab depending on where you live. But don’t let its lower price fool you, it will deliver an amazing flavor when smoked.
They taste quite different. The snow crab has a flakier, more fibrous meat with a lightly sweet and salty flavor. King crab has a rich and sweet flesh that is often compared to the meat found in lobster tail because of its soft texture. It is not about the best one, they just taste different, your choice will depend on the situation and your personal preferences.
In both cases, go for about one and a half to two pounds per person if served alone. Lean towards a pound per person if they are served with a side dish. The cooking times are very similar, too, so you can use these guidelines for both.
Preparing the crab legs
You have already chosen and bought the crab legs you wanted. Now you have to know all crab legs in the U.S. are sold cooked and flash frozen. Most of the time they are even cooked immediately in the boat. The process of smoking will impart flavor on the meat and cook it slightly further, but it will take very little time as they’re precooked.
The butter
Now, we will prepare some delicious basting butter. Start by melting some butter, either microwaving it or on the stove. Go for about a pound for every 10 pounds of crab legs.
Once it has completely melted, you will see a thick, white, foamy layer has formed on the surface. These are the milk solids, which can slightly alter the flavor of the butter.
Grab a spoon and take it all out. Once you’ve finished, your butter should look yellow-transparent with no white at all. This is called clarified butter and it’s a bit better for basting meat and dipping, but it’s completely optional. You can leave the white there if you want.
The spices
Then, put your clarified butter in a bowl and start throwing in the spices. As always, this depends on the flavor you want in the end. Different dishes and different tastes will require different spices, so don’t be afraid. You can always throw a little in and taste until you find your perfect mix.
Here you have an example of a seasoning mix for crab legs:
- ¼ cup salt
- ½ tablespoons mustard seeds
- ½ tablespoons peppercorns
- 2 tablespoons coriander seeds
- 1 tablespoon celery seeds
- 2 teaspoons whole allspice berries
- 2 teaspoons dill seeds
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 4 bay leaves
Throw it all in a spice blender or a food processor until they become powder and you’re done! Of course, you can use a store-bought mix if you want.
Once your melted butter and your spice mix are combined, pour it in a baking tray or similar. Now, take each crab leg and soak it in the butter. Flip it over to make sure it’s completely covered and set it aside. Once you’re done with all your crab legs, move on to the next step.
Choosing the right wood
Most seafood requires a lighter hardwood because of its soft flavor. Crab legs aren’t an exception. Hickory or mesquite should be reserved for tougher and heavier meats like beef and pork.
In the middle ground, we have mild-tasting woods like most fruitwoods (apple, cherry, peach). These are more versatile and go well with lighter meats like poultry, but can be used with almost anything.
For these crab legs, we want soft or mild woods, from alder (lighter) to oak (mild-strong). Between these two, you can use whatever you want, as I said before, most fruitwoods will offer a mild and sweet flavor.
Citrus woods are fine too, they taste similar to other fruitwoods. Other examples are apricot and mulberry wood.
Stay away from mesquite, hickory, and acacia. These are too strong and will overpower the flavor of the crab meat. Also, by no means use any softwood, they are not suitable for smoking anything. They are resinous and will ruin your food.
Smoking it
As we’ve learned, we are not cooking the crab but rather heating it, so it’ll take just about half an hour at 225-235F. Make sure the temperature is right before putting them in, as you can easily overcook them if it’s too hot. It could take some more or less time depending on the size of the legs.
While they’re cooking, baste them a few times with the remaining butter, once every 10 minutes. Just open the lid and use a basting brush to coat the crab legs in butter. Midway through, at about 15-20 minutes, you should turn them over.
You can check if they’re done by breaking a leg open. You can crack it with your hands or use a crab leg cracker. Hold one piece of the shell while taking the other off. It should separate from the meat effortlessly. Then take the meat out of the other piece of shell. It should also slide off easily.
Now, the best part of cooking:
Serving
Crab legs are tasty and can be served with just some dipping sauces (tartar sauce, brandy mayonnaise, diablo sauce, cocktail sauce…). Most people will dip them into the basting butter you just made, it’s really delicious. Some lemon can bring out its very unique flavor, too.
Talking about butter, you should try serving them with corn on the cob. They are just made for each other. Other great side dishes include roasted potatoes, coleslaw, or salad. If you want to go wild, mac n cheese, or the always wonderful surf and turf (serving it with steak).
Whatever you choose to enjoy your smoked crab legs with, I am sure you will never steam one of them once again.
How to open crab legs
You’re not alone if you’ve ever found crab legs difficult to open once they’ve landed on your plate. But fear not, it’s much easier to do than it might seem, and can be done with just a cocktail fork and a crab cracker (these are easy to buy on Amazon if you need one).
Start by breaking the leg away from the knuckle joint at the root of the leg, and then break away the lower end of the leg. This lower part will mostly contain cartilage and won’t contain much of the good stuff. The in-between section is what we really want.
Carefully crack the remaining leg section on each side, breaking it gently in order to preserve the crab meat. Once you have completely cracked the shell, the sections should come away, revealing the meat. You will then be able to glide this delicious meat out.
That’s not all. Use your cocktail fork to dig out any remaining white meat in the knuckle.
Finally, pull apart the pincers on the end of the leg and crack the shell around it using the crab cracker.
Check out this video from Orlando Sentinel on the best way to open the king crab legs.
Smoked King Crab Legs
Equipment
- Oak wood chips
Ingredients
- 5 lbs King crab legs
Basting butter
- 1 cup of butter
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 2 tbsp lemon pepper seasoning
- 2 tbsp garlic powder or minced garlic
Spice mix
- ¼ cup kosher salt
- ½ tbsp peppercorn
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Heat up smoker to 225°F (107°C). Put wood chips in smoker box or on coals.
- Combine basting butter ingredients in a mixing bowl. Transfer to microwave and cook at full heat for 30 seconds, or until melted. Remove from microwave.
- Stir spice mix into basting butter until thoroughly combined.
- Transfer crab legs to smoker. Cook for 30 minutes. Baste with butter mixture every 10 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, cook or grill on high for 2 minutes on each side.
- Remove from smoker and serve immediately.
