[beefcake]

hi all
i am going to or find lots of pealer crabs but im not sure how you freeze them?
do you pull all there legs off first and de-shell them or just freeze them in a box alive?
also
how long do the last for when frozen?
thanks
beefcake

 

[Barrelreef]

i had a coversation about this with the local tackle dealer the other day and this is what he told me:

Peel and de-gill them take off the legs and stuff. A quick rinse in water and seal them individually in poly grip bags ready for freezing.

Seems to work a treat....have used frozen crab from him with good results like my 12lb smoothie last year

 

[john-boy]

I'd agree with Barrel here, I like to peel mine, get rid of the gills, and rinse them, then give em a quick pat dry on kitchen roll, then put them, together with their main legs (peeled) in an individual piece of foil, then wrap them up like little parcels.

TBH, I think the more care you take with them prior to freezing, the better they will be when you thaw them out.

Also, I think it's fine to freeze them if they've just pegged out, have a little sniff first and see if they smell disgusting or not (easy enough to spot with crabs), if they have gone wiffy - chuck 'em away, you'll only get goo when they defrost.

Cheers,
JB.

 

[beefcake]

thanks for the information, how long will the last when frozen before going 'wiffy'?
beefcake

 

[john-boy]

Beef, I don't know, I think they'll last as long as you need 'em to in the freezer, but I guess the longer they're there (i.e. beyond a year or so), the more chance the end product will have lost some of its "sparke"

What I meant by gone wiffy, was if they've died before you freeze them... I usually pick out the casualties to freeze if I've got a stock in, but as I say, give them the sniff test before freezing it - If it's already gone a bit, just bin it.

Cheers,
JB.