King Crab Leg Dinner
When I was a child, my family’s tradition was to have a King Crab Legs dinner every Christmas because we wanted to have seafood instead of the usual ham or turkey. I looked forward to this meal the entire year until unfortunately, my parents divorced in my late teens, and the tradition fell to the side. A few years after the divorce, my dad asked me where I wanted to go to eat for my birthday. After much thought, I had the perfect idea. Since my birthday typically falls during the week of thanksgiving, and just like when I was little, I did not want to have the typical steak or chicken for my meal. So, I decided to transition my childhood Christmas dinner into my birthday dinner. Thirty years later, we still celebrate my birthday by having a King Crab Legs dinner! Even though for YEARS, my dad would ask me each year if I wanted to go out to dinner for my birthday, and every YEAR, I would say, “No!” Anyone can do that. It’s so much more fun hanging out, not rushed, and being on our own time. In November, there is always a football game on. So, we turn on the water for the crab legs, turn the football game on, and spend time together in a casual setting. My dad and I even take our annual crab legs photo. In addition to the main attraction, my stepmom, Beverly, always makes fried potatoes, onions, and green peppers along with a delicious salad and rolls. While these are almost as delicious as the crab legs, my stepmom never fails to forget to set a timer for the rolls and burns the bread! After a few years of some extra-toasted buns, my girls make sure to remind their grandma not to burn the buns! It is our family’s inside joke. All of us, my daughters, their boyfriends, my husband, and my parents gather around the table laughing, talking, and sometimes hitting each other with shells or juice while cracking open the crab to get the meat, or a squirt of butter! It is a grand time making memories every year.
King Crab Leg Dinner
10 to 12 lbs. King crab legs
1 bottle of beer (any beer)
Large stock pot filled a little over ½ full of water (not ¾ full)
Melted butter – use unsalted butter, the crab meat is already salty
Butter warmers (the ones with the candle on the bottom and the dish on top to melt the butter) Depends on the number of people you have
Large bowl with a colander to put on the table
Plastic tablecloth for easy cleanup
Crab forks
Crackers
Plenty of napkins
If crab legs are frozen, partially thaw crab legs in a colander in the sink with some cold water. This may take up to an hour. In a very large stockpot or turkey fryer pot, pour the beer into the water, and bring to a boil. Add ½ the crab legs and cook for 10 minutes. Don’t try and cook all the crab legs at once. Cook in batches. We usually cook the first batch, start eating, and then when we are almost done with the first batch, we put the second batch in to start cooking. Place another colander inside a large bowl to drain excess liquid; place bowl on the table while enjoying the crab.
I use the crab fork the entire time. I use the fork end and scissor my way done the shell and pull out the crabmeat. Everyone makes fun of me because I load my butter dish until the crab is about falling off the sides of it... then I EAT IT! I am always the last one eating and I always eat the most!
If you have eaten enough, and there are any crab legs left, remove from shell and reserve the crabmeat. Refrigerate for up to 2 days. Reheat and serve with butter or top a salad or cooked pasta with fresh crabmeat.
Even after all that food, we still manage to follow it up with your not so typical birthday cake: Boston Cream Pie. It is my all-time favorite dessert. Even though it is called a pie, Boston Cream Pie is really a cake. This cake is more familiar up north then in the south. When I was 18 years old and visiting my grandparents in Cleveland, Ohio, my grandfather asked me what I wanted to eat. I responded enthusiastically, BOSTON CREAM PIE especially since no one in the south had heard of it yet! Luckily, there was a fabulous bakery in walking distance from my grandparent’s house, and he walked down and got me one. Well, not only did I eat one that week, I ate SEVEN BOSTON CREAM PIES! That’s right, I ate it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and in between too (I would not recommend this for every dessert...lol). When I left, my grandfather asked if I wanted to take one back to Georgia, I said NO! I had definitely gotten my fill! It wasn’t until a few more years after that, that Boston Cream Pies were available in the Atlanta area. Unfortunately, they are becoming scarce again. This year, no one could find a Boston Cream Pie. Maybe, we will have to make find a good Boston Cream Pie recipe and make it ourselves! Nothing compares to that, and it is a tradition after all!
King Crab Leg Dinner
Ingredients
- 10 to 12 lbs. King crab legs
- 1 bottle of beer (any beer)
- Large stock pot filled a little over ½ full of water (not ¾ full)
- Melted butter – use unsalted butter, the crab meat is already salty
- Butter warmers (the ones with the candle on the bottom and the dish on top to melt the butter) Depends on the number of people you have
- Large bowl with a colander to put on the table
- Plastic tablecloth for easy cleanup
- Crab forks
- Crackers
- Plenty of napkins
Instructions
- If crab legs are frozen, partially thaw crab legs in a colander in the sink with some cold water. This may take up to an hour.
- In a very large stockpot or turkey fryer pot, pour the beer into the water, and bring to a boil.
- Add ½ the crab legs and cook for 10 minutes. Don’t try and cook all the crab legs at once. Cook in batches. We usually cook the first batch, start eating, and then when we are almost done with the first batch, we put the second batch in to start cooking.
- Place another colander inside a large bowl to drain excess liquid; place bowl on the table while enjoying the crab.
- If you have eaten enough, and there are any crab legs left, remove from shell and reserve the crabmeat. Refrigerate for up to 2 days. Reheat and serve with butter or top a salad or cooked pasta with fresh crabmeat.