Cooking crab typically takes about 8 to 20 minutes depending on the type and size of the crab.

General Cooking Times

• Boiling whole crabs usually takes 12 to 15 minutes. For example, live Dungeness crabs take 12 to 15 minutes when boiled whole, and cleaned halves take about 10 to 12 minutes.

• Smaller crabs, such as Chesapeake Bay Blue crabs, cook faster, around 10 to 15 minutes, with larger ones taking up to 20 minutes.

• As a rough guide, cooking time can be estimated as about 8 minutes per pound of crab, so a 2-pound crab would take around 16 minutes.

Cooking Method

• Bring a large pot of heavily salted water or seasoned water to a rolling boil.
• Add crabs using tongs and boil until crabs turn bright red-orange, then continue cooking for the specified time.
• After cooking, crabs can be soaked briefly in the cooking stock for added flavor.

• It is recommended to cool crabs in an ice bath immediately after cooking to stop the cooking process.

In summary, boiling live crabs typically takes between 8 and 20 minutes depending on the crab size and species, with around 12-15 minutes being a common average for whole crabs.