Old Bay Butter Sauce
Sometimes a simple sauce makes all the difference. I have never been a big fan of plain melted butter. With a few simple ingredients, you can create a flavorful emulsified sauce that is great on just about everything. I love to serve this with crab legs, but any type of seafood or chicken would be delicious! If you are looking for a way to elevate traditional melted butter, give this sauce a try!
For the Old Bay butter sauce
1 cup unsalted butter
2 to 3 garlic cloves, finely minced or grated
1 tablespoon minced Fresno Chilis (you can omit or use red pepper flakes for a little spice)
1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, plus more to taste
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard (this helps stabilize the emulsified sauce)
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon chopped parsley or chives (I like both)
How to make the Old Bay Butter sauce
The sauce comes together in minutes but you must be careful not to overheat or you will break the sauce and end up with separated melted butter and seasonings.
Add a splash of oil in a small saucepan over low heat. Add the minced garlic and fresno chili if using and cook for about 30 to 60 seconds, just until fragrant and soft. Keep the heat low so the garlic does not brown.
Stir in lemon juice, dijon, and worcestshire sauce. Add Old Bay and stir. Next, add cubes of cold butter and whisk to emulsify the butter into the sauce. Make sure you are adding cold butter to the warm sauce. Stir in parsley and/or chives at the end. Taste and adjust if needed.
Keep the sauce warm until serving, being careful not to overheat so the sauce doesn't break.
Why Old Bay butter works so well with snow crab
Old Bay brings celery salt, paprika, mustard, pepper, and warm spice to seafood without needing much else. Butter softens the edges of those spices and carries the flavor into every crack of the crab shell. Lemon adds brightness, and a little garlic makes the sauce taste fuller.
The best part is that the sauce does not need to be complicated. A good Old Bay Butter sauce should taste rich, salty, lightly spicy, and lemony. It should be thin enough to drizzle, but flavorful enough for dipping.
Snow crab has a mild sweetness. It does not need a heavy coating or a long simmer. In fact, long boiling can make it watery and tough. Most snow crab legs sold in grocery stores are already cooked and frozen, then thawed before sale or sold frozen. That means your job is to warm them gently- I prefer to steam them for 5-7 minutes or until just warmed through.
Use unsalted butter if possible. Old Bay contains salt, and the boil water is seasoned too. Unsalted butter gives you more control. I like to serve the crab legs with crispy roasted potatoes and corn on the cob for an elevated twist on a traditional crab boil.
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