Last night, my family and I went out to eat at Red Lobster for the first time in what seems like forever. It’s been so long, in fact, that I almost forgot how much I LOVED fresh crab legs! Once the meal was done, I began to wonder what it would be like if I tried to make them myself at home. I never tried it before, so it might be a worthy experiment.

So I began the search and stumbled onto Better Homes & Gardens, where there is a great how-to guide for making your own crab legs. They don’t only give you cooking instructions or ingredients (there really aren’t any of those as this dish is VERY straightforward) but they DO give you great tips for what to look for when it comes to buying and preparing for this meal. This tips should prove quite helpful in your quest for crab meat! Tips such as:

  • Look for crab legs that are fairly thick to ensure they will be meaty and easy to eat. Avoid those with a lot of ice crystals or that look like they have been frozen for too long. The leg meat is considered the best but the claw meat is still tasty.
  • Consider your pan size when purchasing crab legs since the legs will need to fit into the pot for cooking and they only bend at the joints.
  • Some merchants sell crab legs that are already split. This makes harvesting the meat from the shells easier.
  • King crab legs, which are from the northern Pacific, tend to be the largest legs available and offer delicate, sweet meat tinged with a red color. Because they are so meaty, king crab legs tend to be more expensive than snow crab legs, the other top variety. Sweet, slightly salty snow crab has white meat with a pinkish hue and hails from the northern Pacific and the waters of Canada’s east coast

Now that you know what to look for, it’s time to learn HOW to cook them. To do that, you are gonna have to head over to Better Homes & Gardens for the full instructions. Thanks a lot guys and gals of BHG, I can’t wait to give this recipe a go. I hope you do as well! Enjoy!