Why Freeze Crab

Why Freeze Crab? The reason for freezing crab is because it is very perishable. Since the meat degrades rapidly once cooked, it should be used immediately. Remember to not let the meat sit at room temperature longer than is absolutely necessary. Whole crabs and solid crab meat will only last 3-4 days under refrigeration, however, if properly packed and frozen, it can potentially keep up to 3-3.5 months. Why Freeze Crab? This is Why.

Hard-shell crabs can be frozen when;

alive and whole
cooked and whole
cleaned (bodies and claws)
or as solid crab meat portions

When freezing crab meat portions you may prefer to wash the yellow mustard like matter from the meat as this can potentially affect the taste of the frozen meat in the future. This yellow mustard within the crab is actually the hepatopancreas. This filters impurities from the crabs blood and although it kind of sounds unpleasant, many people think it is one of the more tastier parts of the crab.

Soft-shell crabs can be frozen alive or after they have been cleaned.

There are many storage containers and wrapping for meat such as crab. Food will eventually dry out in the freezer if it isn't efficiently wrapped and sealed. As well as this, food can expand so use freezer bags for the storage of crab meat and allow that little bit of extra room for expansion. Label every bag with contents, date and other information you deem necessary.

When you have the crab meat wrapped, automatically store it in the freezer between 0 and -5 degrees. Avoid leaving the meat out lying at room temperature as this will lead to degradation.

When the frozen crab is removed from the freezer for eating, you can cook the meat once fully thawed. Just make sure to cook the thawed meat immediately and if only partially thawed, obviously leave slightly more cooking time. Most importantly, never refreeze crabs more than once.

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Large pot, Salt, Crabs, Towel, Mallet, Plastic wrap, Freezer bags, Marker, Straw and Aluminum foil

Stage 1

First of all cook the crab. Always cook the crab first before freezing as pre-cooked freezing may result in discolouration of the meat making it look unpleasant and non-fresh. Fill a large pot with boiling water with a little salt. Once at the boil, cook the crabs for almost half an hour.

Stage 2

Once boiled for sufficient time, place them under cold running water to cool them down and then place on a towel to absorb the moisture.

Stage 3

Cleaning the crab is the more difficult step. Pull off the top shell and rinse out the inside of the crab with cold running water. Remove some of the organs such as the stomach and gills. Finally snap of the claws at the bottom joint and then pull off the flap located underneath the crab. Discard the flap as well as the mouth.

Stage 4

Crack the crab's body in half whilst running under more water. Now you have the choice to store the crab like this or you can remove the crab meat. Removal of the meat requires you to pull of the legs and breaking them at the joints. Simply slide the crab meat out with your fingers. Use a mallet or something similar to open the claws and body to remove meat from those areas. Again, rinse the removed meat under cold water.

Stage 5

Finally wrap the crab meat very tightly and securely in plastic wrap. Place the wrapped crab meat within a freezer bag which is labeled and dated. Suck the air out of the bag with a straw and finish by sealing. Wrap this in aluminium foil and place in the freezer.