You can make delicious bbq blue crabs, dungeness crab, king crab legs, snow crab legs or stone crab claws on your outdoor barbecue grill. The key to your grilling success is preparation. Depending upon the crustacean you are going to cook, it may already be precooked. Typically king crab legs and snow crab legs will come precooked, so you will want to adjust your cooking times accordingly. When you can get live and fresh blue crabs or dungeness, you will be in for a real treat. No matter which shellfish you use, the barbeque cooking technique is simple and easy.
BBQ Crab Preparation
First you will want to prepare your crab. If you will be cooking crab legs or claws, gently crack the leg and claws so that the tasty juices can infuse into the crab meat. You can even use cooking shears to put slits along the leg sections. When using the bodies, make sure that it is thoroughly cleaned with all of the crab shell and coverings taken off. Next you will want to split the crab body in half, because it makes for easier handling and cooking.
Once the crabs are cleaned and prepped, you will need to prepare your bbq seasonings. Find a bbq seasoning rub that has a little heat to it, or you could just use Old Bay Seasoning in a pinch. Which ever seasonings you decide to use, pour a generous amount into a mixing bowl, say about 2 cups. Next add some garlic powder (about 2 tablespoons) and a pinch of thyme (1 teaspoon). If your bbq seasoning has salt, you should be ok with not adding any more, but add to your taste. Next, mix the bbq seasonings in the mixing bowl and put aside. Melt a generous portion of butter, as it will be used during the cooking process and while eating.
Cooking the BBQ Crab
There are a couple of ways to go next, and you can decide which you prefer. Take some of the seasoning mix and blend into the melted butter. This butter mixture will be used to basted the crab as it is cooking on the grill. Some people will sprinkle the dry seasoning mix onto the crabs, as a sort of rub, and then basted with the butter mixture. Others will just basted with the butter seasoning mixture alone. The choice is yours, as both techniques are tasty. The idea is to get the flavors into the crab shell and meat. If you have never cooked this way before, maybe a good idea would be to just use the butter mixture for the basting. But do not skimp on the buttered seasonings. If you really love garlic, feel free to add more to mix. There are no hard and fast rules. So you can be creative if you want.
Once the grill is hot, say around a medium heat, butter up the crabs and put them on the grill. As they are cooking, you can brush on more of the bbq seasonings and turn the crab so that the flavors get deep into the crab meat. Cook until done and serve right away with more melted butter for dipping. It also goes great with some warm bread or rice. Enjoy.
Image credit: bbq crab image by robstephaustralia
Also see:
• How to make crab cakes
Resources:
• www.squidoo.com/best-blue-crab-recipes
• www.bluecrab.info/bbqcrabs.html
• www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bbq-with-bobby-flay/bbq-garlic-crab-recipe/index.html
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