If you ask can you freeze crab, the answer is “yes, you can”. For some people freezing crab is something complicated and unusual. In fact, this is easy and not as complicated as you might think. If so, how to freeze crabs to extend their shelf life. Let’s start!
How To Freeze Crab
How to freeze crabs is tricky, and those of you who like these shelled animals must know how to treat crabs.
Freezing crabs depends on how you purchased the crabs. If you buy frozen crab at a food shop, then all you have to know is that the crab has been cleaned, so you only need to cook it and eat it.
There are also types of crabs that you buy are still alive. If this is what you are experiencing, then you need to clean it and boil it and then freeze it. What about live crabs, can they be frozen live? Let’s see!
Can You Freeze Live Crabs?
You get live crabs in various ways, some people catch them themselves or you buy crabs that are still alive from sailors. If this is what you experience, then the question arises, can you freeze live crabs?
Remember, you can’t freeze live crabs, if you kill crabs by freezing them, the crabs will die slowly and this animal is unique. Crabs will release dangerous poison when killed. So stay away from this method, you have to clean the crabs and boil them to then freeze them.
You can also freeze crabs after cleaning them and before boiling them. You can also share some crab parts, for example, just freeze the legs, or the body.
Note: Crab that is frozen after boiling will have a softer texture than if you freeze it directly before boiling it.
Well, now you know how to freeze crabs and this is the reason why you have to learn how to freeze crabs, it’s not as easy as you might think but also not as difficult as some people say.
Can You Freeze Crab Meat?
Yes, you can freeze crab meat. The meaning of the meat is the meat that is on the legs and claws without the shell. You’ve removed the shell and now you want to freeze the meat.
If the crab meat is fresh, then before freezing it, you should boil it first or steam it. Then follow the following steps for freezing crab meat.
If you are removing crab meat from a whole frozen crab, then defrost the crab, clean it, and remove the crab meat.
Check the packing date at the store, if it’s not packed on the day you buy it, then use up the crab meat within 3 days. If you are not sure that the crab meat is fresh, then do not freeze it.
Can You Freeze Lump Crab Meat?
Yes, you can also freeze lump crab meat, when it comes to crab meat, it’s not just white chunks but also lump meat.
Here are the various types of crabs and explanations on how to cook them.
- Jumbo lump: This is a large chunk of white leg, it is better in cold salads and cocktails.
- Lump meat: Small pieces of white leg meat, this is best used for crab cakes and pasta dishes.
- Dark brown claw: The flesh of the claw is dark, and this is great for using in sauces and dips.
- Backfin: Small pieces of white leg and body flesh of a crab. It’s best used in soups, dips and stuffing.
How To Freeze Crab Meat
Well, now let’s see how to freeze crab meat. To wrap it, you have to wrap it first, put it in the freezer, and watch how it freezes as follows:
Equipment:
- Provide paper towels if it’s fresh crab
- Freezer bag of medium size
- Plastic wrap
- freezer labels
- straw (optional)
- Permanent marker for labeling
- Space in he back of the freezer
Instructions:
If you have cleaned the crab from the shell, try rinsing it with clean water and drying it with a paper towel
Wrap the crab meat tightly, you can use cling wrap. Double-wrap it into a package.
Now put the crab meat that was wrapped earlier into the freezer bag, press the bag so that the air comes out and close it completely.
Write the date you froze it on the label so that it will be easier for you to identify it before it expires.
How To Freeze Crab Meat In Milk
Another best way to freeze crab in the freezer is to freeze it in milk. So, apart from storing it directly in the freezer, it turns out that using milk to freeze it is a method worth trying. This will minimize changes in texture and taste. Watch the following step by step.
Equipment
- Milk
- Paper towels
- A medium-sized freezer bag
- freezer labels
- A permanent marker
- The space behind your freezer.
Instructions:
After removing the crab meat from the shell, now clean and rinse it with water, and dry it with a paper towel.
Write down today’s date on which you started freezing it
Place the crab meat in a freezer bag, adding enough milk in the bag to cover the crab meat.
Close the freezer bag, but leave the corners open, and press down to get all the air out. If the air has escaped, seal completely and place the freezer bag deep in the freezer.
How To Freeze Crabs Whole
Whole crabs can also be frozen, see our review below. If you follow this guide, then you should thaw it, and clean it when you want to cook it.
You can steam or boil them, most people prefer steaming and this only requires a little water. The process is fast and the taste of the crab doesn’t change. You want to try it, here we share how.
So, don’t freeze live crabs as they can release harmful toxins, so clean and boil them immediately.
Equipment
- Use a large pot that can accommodate two large crabs
- A crab steamer (optional)
- Salt
- Use a measuring cup, (1/2 cup) – to boil the crabs
- Tongs
- Clean kitchen towels
- Large bowl, should be able to fit two crabs
- Cold water
- Use a pair of kitchen scissors
- Large freezer bag
- Freezer labels
- A permanent marker
- A straw (optional, but recommended)
- The space at the back of the freezer.
Instructions:
When boiling water and preparing it, store the crabs in the refrigerator. This can make the crabs slower and easier to handle
Steps for Steaming Crab:
Fill a steamer pot with 1 inch of salted water, place the crabs in the steamer basket using tongs.
Cover the pot and steam until the crabs are just cooked through, this is only 10 minutes for small blue crabs, and 15 minutes for Dungeness sized crabs and spends another 20 minutes for larger crabs. When cooked, the shell will be red.
Steps for Boiling Crab:
Take a large pot that holds two crabs, and fill it with 2/3 of the pot of water, adding 1/2 cup of salt for every gallon of water, and bring the water to a boil.
Place the crabs in a pot of water and make sure they are completely submerged. Wait for the water to return to a boil, and then turn the timer on for another 20 minutes. If the timer has stopped, you will see that the crab shell will turn red.
Check out more:
Steps for Packing and Freezing Crab
Take out the cooked crabs and place them on a kitchen towel.
Fill a large bowl with water, place the crabs in cold water for 5 to 10 minutes, this will prevent the crab meat from sticking to the shell.
When the crabs are cool, take them out of the water, trim the ends of the legs with kitchen shears, this is so they don’t prick and penetrate the freezer bag.
Place the legs under the shell, place the whole crab in a freezer bag and seal it.
Don’t forget to write a label for easy identification.