Ye Ole Woodson Man Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Like the seafoodlover said go to Maine Ave DC and
> get a load of there crabs, shrimp, Costco as said
> has the big bags of frozen legs and big shrimp
> too. The crabs are simple to cook up drop in
> boiling water about 10 minutes pull em out...
Noooooo. You don't boil them, you steam them. Same idea, less water. ;)
It goes like this:
1. Get one of these things or a similar rack:
2. Put it in the bottom of a big-ass pot.
3. Add enough water to be just below the level of the steamer.
4. Add a pinch of salt.
5. Add whatever spices, vinegar, beer, whatever if you want.
6. Fire that puppy up until it's steaming good.
7. Drop them in.
8. Cover and steam for about 5-7 minutes.
All of the longer-legged King, Dungeness, and similar legs are pre-cooked. You want to steam them just long enough to get them good and hot. Cook them too long and they'll be rubbery.
Live-caught blue crabs, raw shrimp, etc., aren't pre-cooked (obviously) but the basic process is the same. Shrimp don't take long. About 3 mins or when they start to turn color. Blue and rock crabs take longer. 20 minutes or a little longer or shorter depending on number in the pot and size.
For all of the above, all you really want to do is to heat them until you've killed off any bacteria, et. al., that might be along for the ride. Anything much beyond that and you're probably over cooking it. Go for shorter versus longer past the point that you're sure that things are good and hot.