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What’s the BEST way to make crab legs?

By October 19, 2021No Comments

What’s the BEST way to make crab legs?

Griddle vs. grill- which one is better for making delicious crab legs? In order to find the answer, I test out cooking crab legs on both the Blackstone Griddle & the PK Grill to see which method yields the tastiest results.

Making the Garlic Butter

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
  • 2 lemons
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • Handful of parsley
  • Pinch of cayenne pepper
  • Spice mix to taste: 1/3 salt, 1/3 pepper, 1/3 G-Que the Rub

Instructions

  • Roll the lemons against a flat surface, slice the lemons in 1/2, then squeeze the juice out using your hands to catch the seeds.
  • Chop the parsley.
  • Mince the garlic.
  • Combine all ingredients in a small pan & place over indirect heat on the grill to melt the butter.

Prepping the Crab Legs

Using kitchen shears, cut triangular sections out of the crab legs to expose crabmeat surface area. This will allow us to impart lots of flavor with our garlic butter seasoning. Make sure to not expose too much crab, or the meat may fall out of the shell during the cooking process.

Cooking on the Griddle

  • Place a small, heat-safe container with 1 cup of water on the griddle, close the griddle hood, & allow steam to build.
  • After about 8 minutes, lay your crab legs on the griddle, exposed side up. Baste with garlic butter.
  • Pour some water onto the griddle next to the crab legs to generate more steam.
  • After a few minutes but before the meat temp has reached 140 degrees, flip the crab legs over & baste with garlic butter.
  • When the meat temp has reached 140 degrees, remove from heat & finish with more garlic butter.

Cooking on the Grill

  • Prep a charcoal chimney (watch the video below to see how it’s done) & pour the coals into 1 side of the grill, leaving the other side empty in order to create an area of indirect heat.
  • Place the crab legs over the indirect heat, exposed side up. Baste the exposed crabmeat with garlic butter.
  • Flip the crab legs shell side up onto the hot side of the grill, basting with more garlic butter to encourage the flames to reach the meat
  • When the meat temp has reached 140 degrees, remove from heat & finish with more garlic butter.

The Verdict

Both methods of cooking crab legs took about the same amount of time, with the griddle method being slightly faster. It’s a close call, but the grill wins out! You just can’t beat the flavor that comes from cooking over an open flame.

Watch the video below to see how you can make crab legs at home!