can you cook crabs and store whole overnight?

faster100

I need to know this fast, I went crabbing again tonight and dont want to spend the night cleaning and picking the meat.. can i cook them and leave them whole.. store them in the fridge till tomorrow morning and pick them then?? Let me know

pjdami

Not a problem faster. They are good for a couple of days in the fridge. Just eat them cold (don't microwave them). The meat will taste just as good.

So what did you use to boil them? Seasoning?

faster100

been useing Zattarans... with some cajun spice added..

well actually i just read you could put them in a moist container and fridge them alive briefly... so im gonna try that tonight.. see if i have any alive tomorrow.... will learn the tricks this way anyways.. what i can and cant do with them..

pjdami

Very cool faster.

You can also add cut up in half lemons, onions, garlic, corn, potatoes, etc to the crab boil. Zatarain's is good stuff. They also make a liquid crab boil product as well. The trick is to put them in when the pot is boiling rapidly, let it return to a boil and time it for 10 minutes. shut off the fire and add some ice to the water to cool off the water and let the crabs "soak" up the seasoning. Soak them for 15 to 30 minutes after turning the heat off. Much more flavor that way.

here's a website with some more tips. that burner and pot is very similar to what I normally use. We usually boil like 3 to 6 dozen at a time.

http://www.cookinglouisiana.com/Cooking/Recipes/Seafood/boiled-crabs%20-%20JG.htm

Jstas

The thing about crabs is that they should ALWAYS be cooked live. The second you kill them or any other shellfish, they start to decompose and that is when you can get bacteria build-up that will make you seriously ill or even kill you. Always cook your catch before storing. Once the meat is cooked, it is much less likely to be fouled.

They will keep a few days in the fridge but if you freeze them immediatly after cooking, you can keep them for a bit longer. Warning though, once you freeze them, the meat will not be so good plain. It's best to make crab cakes or crab imperial or something after you thaw frozen crab out. It will still have the same taste but the texture changes and a crab cake or crab imperial will help hide that.

Personally, I'd eat the whole bucket of crabs in one sitting! No leftovers for me!

F1nut

Yeah, what John said!!!