To begin, you’ll need to defrost your crab legs overnight. Remove vacuum packaging, placing crab in a zip-top bag instead. Place crab legs in a large bowl in the refrigerator for about 8-12 hours. Thawing your crab legs in the fridge ensures that they remain at a safe temperature, keeping freshness and flavor intact.
Once fully thawed, you can begin cooking
Remove thawed crab legs from the refrigerator, making sure that they are fully defrosted
Next, you’ll want to split your crab legs to expose the meat
Using kitchen scissors, carefully cut the crab shell lengthwise. You may need to separate legs at the joint to make them easier to split
Once your crab legs are split, you can preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit
While the oven is preheating, prepare a flavored butter sauce
Begin by placing a few tablespoons of butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. To the butter, add seasonings of your choice such as Old Bay, garlic and lemon, or simply salt and pepper
Stir the butter and seasonings together until melted
Remove from the heat promptly as to not burn the butter
Next, arrange your crab legs in a baking dish, spooning the butter sauce overtop. Using a pastry brush or a spoon, spread the sauce evenly over each crab leg
Place the baking dish on the center rack of the oven and bake for approximately 15-20 minutes. Check for doneness at the 15 minute mark to ensure that you do not overcook the crab legs
Signs of doneness include a sweet, seafood aroma as well as color of the shell and meat. Cooked crab meat will be opaque in color and steaming hot
Serve baked crab legs fresh out of the oven with remaining butter sauce and fresh lemons
