How to Bake Crabs in the Oven
Crab meat is delicious and tender and can be eaten hot or cold. Several species of edible crabs live worldwide. Blue, king, snow and dungeness crab are species in the United States. Crab meat is packed with protein and some essential vitamins and minerals. One 3-oz. serving of blue crab contains 74 calories, 15 g of protein, less than 1 g of fat and over 7 mcg of vitamin B-12, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Generally, crabs are sold cooked and frozen. If you buy live crabs, kill them by boiling before baking in the oven.
Broiled red crab on ice at a market. (Image: katana0007/iStock/Getty Images)Baked Crab Meat
Step 1
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Step 2
Thaw cooked, frozen crabs at room temperature. If you are using live crabs, precook them by placing them in boiling water. Cook until the crabs are dead. This can take 30 seconds to few minutes, depending on the size of the crabs.
Step 3
Remove the meat from the shell. Crack open the legs and pull the meat out. Pull of the top shell from the body and remove the meat.
Step 4
Place the meat on a baking dish. Brush or drizzle olive oil or butter on both sides of the meat and season with salt and black pepper to taste. Optionally, brush with an herb-oil mixture of 2 tbsp. of olive oil, 1 tbsp. of fresh chopped herbs, 1 tbsp. of lemon juice, salt and black pepper
Step 5
Bake for eight to 10 minutes.
Baked Crab Legs
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
Step 2
Thaw cooked, frozen crabs or crab legs to room temperature. If you are using live crabs, precook them by placing them in boiling water until they are dead. This can take 30 seconds to few minutes.
Step 3
Place crab legs on a baking dish. For whole crabs, pull off the legs from the body.
Step 4
Pour 1/8-inch layer of hot water, preheated white wine or fish stock into the baking dish to cover the bottom. Optionally, just sprinkle with salt and black pepper.
Step 5
Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for eight to 10 minutes.
Things You'll Need
Baking dish
Olive oil
Salt
Black pepper
Hot water, white wine or fish stock
Aluminum foil
