King Crab Legs - Steaming vs Baking?

Hmmm. I've only had crab straight from watching it be boiled at the crabshack by the water.. or had it served in restaurants, the best time being when it was stirfried with, I think, curry spices, in a wok.

I'll be interested in the answers re steaming or baking already cooked crab - presumably the idea is just to heat it. They both sound easy, but perhaps the steaming leaves you with more moist crab? On the other hand, baking for 9 minutes at that temp shouldn't dry it out...

I steam them. I think they may dry out a bit in the oven.

edit: and I don't thaw them first. I just steam them for 8-10 minutes and they're fine.

never tried baking, always steamed or grilled.

How do they do on the grill? What temp/time do you use?

I guess I am looking for a way out of steaming as I have 8+ pounds to heat but don't want to screw them up, either.

Here's how I do them (it doesn't matter the quantity). Put about an inch of water in the bottom of a broiler pan. Set the broiler grill over the water, pile on the crab legs, cover the whole thing with aluminum foil, bring the water to a boil on top of the stove and cook on med-high heat for 8-10 minutes (if frozen). You could use the same technique (water in the bottom of the broiler pan) and do them in the oven as well. The water in the bottom of the pan would keep them from drying out.

Thanks folks, I appreciate the tips

Dunno if this would work for already-cooked king crab legs, but...

My in-laws are members of a club ("a drinking club with a boating problem") that hosts a couple of crab feeds (live dungeness straight off the boat) every year, and there's always a lot of chopped celery in the water the crabs are boiled in. Adds a subtle flavor that's really quite tasty. May or may not get imparted by the steam if you use the covered-broiler-pan method, but celery is damn cheap and it sure couldn't hurt...

Both ways of cooking crab is good; they kinda add a different characteristic taste to it.

Ive already eaten broiled lobsters , done in a charcoal grille. I think they suck. The flavor that the burnt shell imparts to the delicious meat is a little bit like burning hair. Ive never been a fan of taking fresh seafood and campfire cooking it.

Even in Maine lobster bakes it usually require us to dig and rock line about a 4 ft hole. In this hole we start and keep a roaring fire going all night. Then we get the firedown to coals at time of cooking and most of the ash is removed and lobsters and clamms and veggies are all wrapped in sea weed and rock weed leaves and allowed to steam for a while. we also bury a closed iron pot full of "bean hole" beans . (some Jonah crabs and velvet crabs arein there too.

The moist heat imparts a great flavor and nothing is burnt tasting or giving off a burnt hair s,mell.Remember crab shell is very similar in composition to the chemical that makes up hair.

Not everybody tastes the burnt hair taste, but I do, and I find it kinda off putting.

I ended up heating them in the oven at 365F for 15 minutes and not only did they not dry out, they were still cold inside upon inspection. I ended up steaming them after all. Next time it's straight to the steamer...they were still great, even after the delay in serving