How to Prepare Snow Crab Legs and Other Crustaceans

Who doesn't like seafood? Okay. So, not everyone likes seafood. Oh, but those few are missing something incredible. There is nothing like hot snow crab legs, shrimp, and sea scallops. The question always arises...how do you cook them? It is so easy. Keep in mind the snow crab legs were cooked immediately after they were caught, so you just have to reheat them. Though, doing it right is very important.

The old stand-by for snow crab legs is to boil them. While this method works, it takes some of the taste away, mostly the natural sea salt. So, if you like that taste of the sea, you don't want to do that. You can steam them, but you need a container big enough to do that unless you are willing to break the legs.

Your best bet is to reheat them in the oven. Turn the oven on to about 350 degrees. Let it preheat. Put the snow crab legs on a rack on a cookie sheet. If you don't have either of those, a sheet of aluminum foil works just fine. If they are still frozen, leave them in for about eight minutes, then turn them over for another eight minutes. If they've been in the refrigerator for a bit, leave them in the oven for about four minutes per side.

While this is going on, cook the shrimp and scallops. You can use bay or sea scallops. Sea scallops are bigger so they will take longer.

Drizzle some extra virgin olive oil in a pan with about a teaspoon of butter. You can leave the butter out, but it helps brown the shrimp and scallops. Heat the oil/butter. Season the scallops and shrimp with salt and pepper and whatever else you would like, such as garlic and onion powder, paprika, or hot pepper flakes. Any or all work well. Don't go crazy, a light sprinkle is all you need. Parsley is a nice garnish at the end.

Put the scallops in the hot oil for about three to five minutes on each side, longer depending on the size. When you flip them over, throw in the shrimp. Cook until the shrimp are pink.

A nice touch is pouring some dry white wine over the shrimp and scallops at the end, letting it heat through. Remember, all in moderation. You want the wine to cook down and that increases the flavor.

Melt some butter with a bit of lemon juice and pepper.

Bon appetite!