Can You Cook Crab Legs In The Microwave?

Whether you source your crab legs from a local seafood market or from Costco (where the King crab legs have received considerable hype), they tend to be a pricey splurge. This means crab legs are often reserved for anniversaries, birthdays, or other celebratory dinners. There are lots of ways to cook these tasty crustaceans from boiling or steaming them on the stovetop to oven baking them in their shells. But, have you ever looked at your crab legs and then your microwave and thought, "Is this possible?"

Believe it or not, your microwave can certainly handle these clawed sea dwellers, and depending on how many you're cooking at once, it's a heck of a lot faster than waiting for water to boil. Crab legs are typically sold flash-frozen after already being cooked, so all you need to do is warm them up before eating — something your microwave is definitely capable of.

First things first: You don't want to attempt to microwave crab legs from frozen. If that's how you purchased them, you'll want to thaw them in your fridge overnight first, so plan accordingly. It's also important to note that, depending on how large your microwave is, this isn't the best method for cooking up crab legs for a crowd (a large pot boil is probably easier for this). Instead, microwaving gives you a quick technique for one or two servings at a time. 

Use a microwave-safe or Pyrex dish and place as many crab legs as you can inside. If you want to fit more, or if your crab legs are extra large, you can bend them, or even use poultry shears to cut through the shells at the joints. Add around 1 tablespoon of water for every 8 ounces of crab legs and microwave on high. You'll want to give this amount 3-4 minutes in the microwave. You can also use your olfactory senses to let you know when the crab legs are done — the light, sweet scent of crab will start to waft into your kitchen when the meat is heated through. (You can save your leftover crab shells for making seafood stock, too.)