How to Cook and Eat King Crab

King crab cooks up quick and easy for elegant dining at home. Savvy shoppers buy crab on sale and store in the freezer for upcoming special occasion; king crab is fully cooked and frozen at the dock before delivery to your grocer. Store crab in the refrigerator for use within two days or immediately freeze wrapped in butcher paper for up to three months. Ask your grocer for frozen crab legs from the back coolers if you plan to keep them frozen as the ones in the display case have probably thawed a bit. Always buy seafood from an established quality market for food safety. One leg of king crab has 130 calories, 19 fat calories, 26 grams of protein and is rich in vitamin B12, zinc, copper and selenium.

Bring water to a boil in the largest pot you have. Break the crab legs apart and fold at the joints to fit into your pot. Be very careful of the sharp spines. Rinse the crab legs before placing into the boiling water to remove seaweed and other debris.

King crab is pre-cooked so you only need to heat it up. Boil for five minutes and then turn off the stove. The hot water will keep the crab legs warm until you are ready to serve.

Using a tong, pick up a leg and let it drain into the pot. The water inside the leg will be very hot. Allow the leg to drain completely.

Place the crab leg on a platter. Use a towel or silicone hot pad to break apart the joints. Pulling out the cartilage at the joints enables the meat to come out of the shell in large chunks when you remove it from the shell.

Cut the king crab legs down both sides with a kitchen shears. Be very mindful of the sharp spines to prevent injury.

Cutting on both sides of the leg allows the crabmeat to fall right out of the shell for easy serving. There is no mess or struggle from trying to open the legs with a crab cracker. Discard the shells as you work for easy clean up. Alternately, serve with one side of the shell cut for a more traditional presentation.

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Serve your crabmeat with sides of lemon juice, melted butter or simply enjoy the delicate flavor as is. Flake large pieces of crabmeat along the grain to prevent the texture from feeling chewy. Store leftover crabmeat in the refrigerator for up to two days. Enjoy crabmeat in salad, made into crab cakes or in your favorite seafood dip recipe.