Boozy Garlic Butter Snow Crab Legs

It’s officially summer! Time to enjoy a succulent bevy of boozy garlic butter snow crab legs and feel absolutely zero shame while you savagely slurp and suck that tender meat from the shells. Go ahead, we won’t judge you. This recipe is probably one of the easiest things to make on CarnalDish, and requires very little effort to put together. There is no “cute” way to devour this dish, so you’re just gonna have to tie your hair back and go in. It’ll be worth it, I promise.

You can use any kind of crab legs you want, but I know most people are buying up the snow crab legs — they’re just easier to find at any grocery store. They come pre-cooked, so all we’re doing is heating them up in a flavorful bath of fat and booze. Personally, I don’t like a ton of caked up seasoning all over my crab. I like to taste the crab! Some folks go a little too hard with the seafood seasoning to the point where all you taste is salt and grit. If you like it, that’s your business — but I prefer a weee bit less. 

Another thing, fresh garlic is key here. It’s key in every recipe that calls for garlic. It tastes so much better than the jarred stuff. But you can use garlic paste in a tube, that’s an acceptable substitute because it’s just pure garlic — no weird brine. I love to use a combination of dried and fresh herbs for recipes like this, but use what you have on hand. If you want it spicy, kick it up a few more notches by adding cayenne or cajun seasoning, or just more crushed red pepper flakes. The garlic butter is the star here, so I didn’t wanna overpower it too much, just complement it. 

Listen…the boozy garlic butter situation here is already fire — but when you squeeze those cooked down lemons over the crab meat before you bite into it?? Be prepared to receive every blessing your life can accept in that moment. It’s INSANE!

So we’ve got a sh*tload of garlic — FRESH garlic! Don’t disrespect yourselves using the garlic in a jar. We’ve also got some Old Bay seasoning, granulated onion, roasted granulated garlic, dried parsley, dried dill, and crushed red pepper flakes. Feel free to use any combination of seasoning you want. I decided to keep it simple.

I’ve got one brick of Plugra. You can use 2 regular sticks of salted butter, it really doesn’t matter.

Melt the butter along with a healthy drizzle of olive oil, the seasonings over medium heat.

Add all of the garlic. This is probably about 15-18 cloves, I did not count. I just added enough until the ancestors were pleased.

Add some fresh parsley.

While everything is melting, add some regular black pepper and sea salt. Just enough until it tastes good.

Allow the garlic to cook for about a minute or two in this hot fat.

Add the crabs, one cluster at a time, making sure to drench them in the butter mixture. Reduce the heat to low.

Until they look like this.

Nestle in the chunks of corn, if using. Baste those, too.

Pour in about a cup of beer. I used regular Budweiser — no need to use anything “special” or expensive, unless you want to. If you don’t want to add alcohol, just use either chicken, vegetable, or seafood stock.

Bring the heat back up to medium, just to let the beer simmer a few seconds.

Nestle in some lemon wedges. Listen, when these lemons cook down…and you squeeze them over the finished product?? Girl. Girl…GIRL!!

Cover it all up, and pop it in a 375-degree F oven for 30-35 minutes.

Y’all…these are soooo good! I’m talking manners-out-of-the-window-damn-near-pornographic-GOOD! Simple, easy, hella flavorful. You will adore this recipe. 

Check out some more crabby recipes: 

• Broiled Crab and Corn Cakes

Garlic Butter Snow Crab Legs

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★★★★★

5 from 5 reviews

• Author: Chef Resha
• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings

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Description

Snow crab legs baked in a boozy bath of butter, tons of fresh garlic, seasonings and lemon paired with juicy sweet bites of fresh corn. Ughhhh, so good!

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Ingredients

Units USM

• 2 pounds snow crab legs (or about 6 clusters)
• 8 ounces good-quality salted butter (or 2 sticks)
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 15–18 cloves garlic, finely chopped (about a half cup)
• 1 tablespoon1 fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning
• 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
• 1 teaspoon granulated onion
• 1 heaping teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon dried dill
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 ears fresh corn, shucked and chopped into 2-inch chunks
• 8 ounces beer (I used Budweiser)
• 6 lemon wedges
• Sea salt, to taste
• Black pepper, to taste

Garnish

• More fresh parsley

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375-degrees F.
2. Add the butter, olive oil, garlic, fresh parsley, Old Bay, granulated garlic, granulated onion, dried parsley, dried dill, and crushed red pepper flakes to a large skillet or braising dish over medium heat. As the butter melts, stir everything around. Give it a taste, and add sea salt and black pepper as needed. Cook for about 2 minutes, then reduce the heat to low.
3. Add the crab legs, one cluster at a time, and with a large spoon baste the crabs with the butter mixture thoroughly. Get every nook and cranny. Continue until all of the crabs are in the pan. Nestle the chunks of corn in, and baste those with the butter mixture too. You may have to tilt the pan towards you to make this easier.
4. Pour in the beer, and bring the heat back up to medium. Once the beer starts to simmer just slightly, nestle in the lemon wedges. Cover the pan with a domed lid or use heavy-duty foil.
5. Place the dish in the oven on the middle rack for 30-35 minutes.
6. When they’re ready, finish with another hit of fresh parsley and serve. Be sure to squeeze the cooked down lemons over the actual crab meat as you eat!

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 35 minutes
• Category: Seafood
• Method: Oven-baked

Keywords: oven baked crab legs, garlic butter crab legs, garlic butter snow crab legs, crab legs

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