Crabmeat has an incredible taste and a lot of nutritional benefits. You would be doing your body great benefit if you use crab meat in your delicacies.
Blue crab meat contains a substantial amount of vitamins, protein and minerals like phosphorus, calcium, copper, and zinc. These minerals help improve the growth of strong bones and teeth.
Blue crabs are versatile in usage and can be used in adding extra sweetness to a lot of food items. The blue crab is seasonal food and is only available once a year.
You might want to get a large quantity when it is available for you to consume after its season has gone. Blue crabs are best enjoyed when you cook them right away, but what if you want to preserve them to consume later?
Can you freeze blue crabs? Yes, you can. Blue crab meat will stay healthy for consumption in the freezer for about 3 months. If you will be preserving your blue crabs for more than 3 months, they will still be safe for eating but the quality will have diminished.
You can enhance the sweetened taste of your blue crab by dipping it in sauce, vinegar, or melted butter.
What Kind of Blue Crab Freezes Best?
The longer you keep your blue crab unpreserved, the higher the chance of bacteria growing in it. The extent to which blue crab will withstand the harsh cold temperature depends on how you process and package it before freezing.
We recommend that you don’t freeze your blue crab uncooked. You will be exposing yourself to the danger of food poisoning if you eat uncooked frozen blue crab. Toxins easily spread to different parts of the blue crab when it dies, making it unfit for freezing and consumption.
Also, the uncooked crab meat does not thaw well after freezing. As the blue crab freezes, the meat in it expands against the shell. When you thaw it, the crabmeat begins to shrink and fall apart. This will make it difficult for you to consume as you will be challenged with removing meat from the shell.
Cooked blue crabs freeze best without getting stringy and losing their sweet taste.
How to Freeze Blue Crabs
Freezing your blue crab for preservation is a simple and stress-free one, but it will require you to prep it first. Prepping it will help you keep them safe for eating after you thaw it. You can freeze the whole blue crab or just the crab meat
To freeze blue crab, you need cling wrappers, foil paper, a glass of milk, freezer bags, and a marker for labeling.
Step 1: Allowing the Blue Crabs to Cool Off
Allow your blue crabs to cool off after cooking before you place them in the freezer. Placing hot food in the freezer can reduce its quality and raise the temperature of other food items in the freezer.
Step 2: Portion the Blue Crabs
If you want to freeze whole blue crabs, wrap each blue crab with a layer of cling wrapper. You can limit the chance of air entering into the blue crab by wrapping it up again with foil paper.
To portion blue crab meat before freezing, remove the meat from the shell and place it in a bowl. Pour milk on your crab meat to prevent freezer burn. After this, portion your crabmeat in serving size packages into separate freezer bags. This will allow you to thaw it easily for consumption.
Step 3: Storage
When a blue crab is exposed to the air, the rate at which it gets spoiled accelerates, and this can damage its quality. To store a whole blue crab, wrap each blue crab first with cling paper, then with foil paper to prevent air from getting into it.
Store your crab meat in freezer bags. Leave at least an inch of space at the top of each freezer bag to make it easy to seal. Press the freezer bag well to expel any air trapped in the bag before you seal it.
Step 4: Freezing Blue Crabs
With your marker, label each freezer bag and freezer safe bowl. This will make you identify what is contained in each bag and its date of freeze.
Place your blue crab in a freezer compartment where dirt will not find its way into it. Also, make sure you do not place your blue crab filled freezer bags where they can be punctured. Then, with your marker, label each freezer bag and bowl. This will make you identify what is contained in each bag and its date of freeze.
Allow your blue crab to store at a freezer temperature of at least -15°F.
How to Defrost Frozen Blue Crab
Thawing frozen whole blue crab or crab is a very simple one just like the process of freezing it. You would enjoy your blue crab best if you keep it thawed before eating.
The best way to defrost blue crab is to allow it to thaw slowly. You can do this by placing it in a refrigerator or warm water. Take your frozen blue crab out of the freezer and place it in a bowl in the refrigerator. Allow it to thaw overnight before you take it out. The duration in which the blue crab thaws completely depends on how big the blue crab is.
If you need to thaw your blue crab faster, you can place it in a bowl of hot water. Leave it in the hot water for a couple of hours to allow it to thaw well.
What Part of Blue Crab is Unsafe to Eat?
There are parts of the blue crab that are poisonous to the human body and should not be eaten. The lung of blue crab is unhealthy for consumption. It is a feathery cone that appears on the side of the body of blue crabs. It does not digest easily in the stomach and tastes horrible.
How to Recognize Spoiled Blue Crab
Leaving your blue crab unused for a long time after thawing can allow bacteria to grow on it. Spoiled blue crab becomes sticky, gives off a pungent odor, and changes color to yellow.
To get the nutritional benefits blue crab gives, eat it while it has just been thawed and dispose of the spoilt ones.