The cooking of crab legs is basically a matter of properly heating them because most crab legs, such as King Crab and Snow Crab legs sold in the United States are precooked and then frozen. Many people prepare them by steaming them or boiling them, as they would cook live crabs or lobster, and this is not only not necessary, but really isn’t the best method to use for heating them to the proper temperature.

It is always a good idea to buy them frozen as well, as the minute they are thawed they begin to lose freshness rapidly. The cooking process is actually a combination of thawing and then heating them to the desired eating temperature. If you do thaw them, do it by setting them in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours.

One good suggestion for combined heating and thawing is to use the microwave oven. This method is not well known, but does an excellent job. Wrap them in damp paper towels first, and then zap them for about four minutes. The exact time will depend on the number of legs being heated.

If you do not use the microwave, then take a look at the legs first. If they are split, broiling works best. Brush on either butter or olive oil and give them about three full minutes. If the legs are whole then bake them for about 8 minutes at 375 degrees.

When the legs are prepared for shipping, they are generally washed in a brine solution before freezing, and so it is generally not necessary to add salt at any time in the cooking process. In fact, it is not a bad idea to rinse them for awhile in fresh water to reduce the salt content a bit.