Tag: Easy

Cooking King Crab Legs

King Crab Legs

The Best King Crab Legs

The thing about King Crab Legs, or any crab legs for that matter, is that they are already cooked when you buy them.  I know, Shocker, right?  So all we need to do is reheat them and you just need to choose the method you’d like to prepare them.  Steaming is an easy way if you have a big enough pot that can be covered with a lid.  A few inches of boiling water in the bottom will get them done in about 4 minutes.  Just make sure that you get the water to a rolling boil before you actually add the King Crab Legs.  Most people don’t realize that you can actually cheat and take it a step further; you can usually have them steamed at the place of purchase when you are buying them.  Of course this means you need to be picking them up at meal time but if you’re waiting on the oven for bake potatoes, a quick trip to the grocery is perfect for that waiting time; just a suggestion.

Be Careful Grilling King Crab Legs

Grilling King Crab Legs leaves people oohing and awing every time you flip open the lid, but you need to be very careful not to dry them out.  Even though you tend to gain the Smokey flavor of the grill, you lose the natural flavors of the crab meat.  Remember this is just a reheat anyway so you don’t want them on the grill for too long.  10 minutes on low with the lid down, tops!

The oven will have a similar effect that grilling does if you don’t cover up the Crab Legs.  It will dry them out, and you will lose flavor.  The way I show you how to cook them in this tutorial is on a broiler pan covered with tin foil.  The reason I do it this way is because you get the best of both worlds.  By adding a half cup of water to the pan you get the steaming effect with convection as the heat rises from underneath the King Crab Legs, then the heat reflects off the foil, cooking the top.  It’s win-win.

You can do a reheat in the microwave, but I don’t recommend it.  In fact I don’t recommend that any meat go in the microwave for a reheat, EVER!  I’ll get into that at later time.

King Crab Legs and Santolla Reds

Now, the crab legs that I’m introducing are not your traditional King Crab Legs.  These are called Santolla Reds.  The reason I’m using these instead of the other is they are practically the same thing.  First off, they are almost exactly the same size; same look and everything that way.  The only difference that I’ve noticed is they are a little bit saltier, so I just use unsalted butter.  Second, it’s about the cost.  I wouldn’t be living up to my reputation as the Poor Man’s Gourmet Kitchen showing you recipes at “A Low Budget Wonder”, if I was showing off recipes that aren’t affordable.  Santolla Reds, if you can find them, are usually at least half the price of regular King Crab Legs.  I can pick them up at Smith’s right now, for $6.99 a pound, and that’s year ‘round!  Try getting more than a pound and a half of king crab legs at any restaurant these days for under $26 bucks!  It’s worth doing it at home, and worth knowing a few tricks to cooking King Crab Legs and other gourmet meals at a low budget wonder.

Crawfish Boil Recipe from Scratch

The Easiest Crawfish Boil Recipe

What an experience!  Anyone that hasn’t ever had their own Crawfish boil is really missing out.  I imagine it could possibly be a nightmare for some if they really don’t know what they’re doing, but that’s why there’s tutorials like these to help the “Not so Common” common folk out!  But first, you’ve got to find  a good Crawfish Boil Recipe!

My Crawfish Boil

I’ve been eating Crawfish for a while now, and I think I’ve finally had enough boils and etouffee in my life to finally have a real good perspective on how great crawfish should taste.  So I figured it was time to see if my seasoned pallet, training and the talent I’ve worked hard to develop over the years has really paid off.  I was ready to try my own Crawfish Boil Recipe, from scratch.  So I bought this   31 pound of bag of live Crawfish for $46 and this bag of Slap Ya Mama.

Crawfish Boil Seasoning

I didn’t put together any of the actual ingredients in this boil, but you can by a bag of this stuff just about anywhere in the South, or online if you’re trying to find it elsewhere.  I previously had never been a part of a Crawfish Boil before this day, and I can honestly say I was relying on instinct and instruction from locals alone before I filmed my first time with my own Crawfish Boil.  So what you are witnessing here today is my first time ever dealing with live crawfish in my kitchen.  Though I was a little nervous, over all, I think I handled this Crawfish Boil Recipe like a Pro!

Update:  I have since done so many Crawfish Boils it’s unbelievable.  I’ve even discovered so more secrets to perfecting their flavor.  One of the thins I do now is melt in a whole cube of butter.  I also dumb down the spice a bit, without the expense of losing flavor, by adding in Tomato bouillon.  These too things bring a richer, sweeter flavor to the boil and makes the broth heavenly to suck from the heads, if you know what I mean.  Now all you need to do is throw in some Potatoes, Andouille Sausage slices and some half portioned corn on the cob and your well on your way to perfect Crawfish Boil Dinner!