Can You Freeze Blue Crabs – How to Preserve Blue Crabs

Are you wondering that can you freeze blue crab? Then this article is for you. Blue crabs are the most popular kinds of seafood available in the brackish coastal lagoons, Mexico, South, and many other regions. But nowadays, in 2024, Louisiana is famous for blue crab.

If we talk about the best blue crabs where they come from, they are usually found in Maryland waters. The scientific name of the blue crab is Callinectes sapidus, and they have paddle-shaped. People love to purchase blue crab at any price because of their sweet and delicate flavor and tender meat.

The season of these blue crabs from April to November, But if you love to eat the giant crab, it’s harvested from September to November. If I talk about the best time, September and October are the best time for eating blue crab because you can get the largest crab in these months at the best price and enjoy it. If you have blue crab or canned crab meat, you can freeze both of them.

Can You Freeze Blue Crabs

Yes, You can freeze blue crab, but it would be better if you freeze the blue crab meat, legs instead of whole crabs. But if you already freeze the whole crab or you have decided to freeze the entire crab, you can freeze the whole crab, but it will last three months.

If you want to keep your crab fresh for longer than three months, it’s recommended to separate the meat, legs and freeze them, which may last more than three months. Freeze them separately that would become more beneficial for you because if any parts are spoiled, it will not spoil the whole crab because it’s separate.

In some regions, blue crabs are available in one season. That’s why people bought too many crabs because and want to freeze them to save it for later. Make sure to eat your blue crab before three months for better and delicious taste. After three months, the crab will be safe to eat, but the taste and quality will not be like the fresh one.

Many people are complaining that our blue crab doesn’t last long. It’s your own mistakes; you are not storing them properly. While freezing blue crab, it’s essential to freeze the crabs with the shell intact if you have frozen them with the shell so the flavor will stay the same.

How To Cook Live Blue Crab

When it comes to cooking, everyone loves their way to cook blue crabs. Few people love to add some other stuff to the pot, such as a cup of beer and vinegar, but I will prefer this method to enjoy the delicious taste.

1. Put a few inches of water in the pot, cover it, put the pot on the stove, and leave them for a few minutes. Once water becoming boil, then drop your blue crabs into the pot.
2. Now put the lid back on the pot and leave them for 20 minutes. Make sure you are cooking them on high heat.
3. After 15-20 minutes, your crab shell will start becoming bright orange, which means your crab is ready to eat.

How To Freeze Blue Crabs

Many people think that freezing blue crab is difficult, but it’s quite easy according to my own experience. Before freezing the blue crabs, follow these instructions to keep it fresh for three months.

• Before freezing the blue crabs, make sure they are correctly cooked. After that, place it in the bowl gently.
• Now pour the milk into every part of the crab to cover it adequately and leave them for a few minutes to let the milk sit down.
• Put crab in the freezer-safe bag and leave one-inch space on the top for sealing it easily.
• Make sure you have sealed the bag tightly. Label the bag. That’s it now you can enjoy your blue crab for three months.

How To Deforest Blue Crabs

Do you want to deforest your frozen blue crabs? Here are the simple instructions.

• Sink the blue crab meat into the cold water and leave them for 30 minutes. If it’s not deforested within 30 minutes, repeat them the same process but change the water after every 30 minutes.
• It’s not recommended to thaw blue crabs in warm water, but if you want to thaw it quickly, you can, but it may lose the quality. It’s a quick process but doesn’t do it.
• You can also thaw the blue crab slowly to leave them overnight. This method is recommended for those who can wait for an extended period.

How Long Does Blue Crabs Last

Live blue crabs at room temperature:

The live crabs will last a couple of days at room temperature. They may become last more if their gills are moist. If you want to keep live blue crabs for a few months and years, it would be better to store them properly.

If you don’t know how to keep them alive, read how to keep blue crabs alive.

Fresh blue crab meat at the refrigerator:

The fresh blue crab meat will last 2-3 days in the refrigerator. While storing them in the fridge, it would be better to keep ice around the meat.

Cooked blue crab at the refrigerator:

The cooked blue crab will last 5-7 days in the refrigerator. If you want to keep them longer, then freeze them.

How Do You Store Cooked Crabs

1. If you want to store cooked crab to keep it for a long time, make sure you have refrigerated within two hours of cooking.
2. Before refrigerating, ensure to keep them in an airtight container. If you don’t have an airtight container, then wrap tightly with plastic. You can also use a freezer-safe bag.
3. If you want to enjoy the better quality and taste, use them as soon as possible.

How To Tell If Cooked Crab Is Bad

Before eating the crab, it’s essential to know if the crab is bad because eating bad crab may sick you. You can recognize bad blue crabs easily by its smell. If you feel that crab has a sour taste, it’s bad you should throw them away. The other sign of bad blue crab is slimy texture and changing in color. The color of the cooked blue crab is bright red-orange, If you feel any color changes, it might be bad, and you shouldn’t eat it.

Does Blue Crabs Go Bad

Yes, blue crabs go bad, but it depends on the blue crabs’ condition, where you are keeping them. Suppose you have left crab at room temperature so that it will go bad within 1-2 hours. There are many chances of bacteria growth in the warm temperature, so don’t keep them at room temperature.

If you have cooked blue crabs and have frozen them in the airtight container according to the above instructions, you didn’t use them within three months to change their taste and quality after that time.

Tip:

As I have mentioned above, the shelf life of cooked, fresh crabs, so tries to use them within its duration for better quality.

How to Clean Blue Crabs

If you love cooking and want to cook crabs itself, I will guide you to clean the blue crabs fast easily. Most people love boiled them whole, but these two easy steps are better than throwing the live crabs into the pot of boiling water. 

1. Crack the top of the shell, Watch the below video for better understanding.
2. Make sure to clean the guts and gills properly.

Have you cleaned your blue crabs properly by applying the above method? Let’s cook it.

How To Cook Blue Crabs

Add crabs into the water carefully:

Take the crab from the pot using long metal tongs (which is used to grip anything instead of holding them in hand) and drop into the pot of boiling water one by one.

• Cover the pot and boiled crabs:

Once you have added all blue crabs to the pot, covered it and make sure to boil all the crabs for 15-20 minutes. 

• Check the crab’s shell:

Check the crab’s meat and shell properly. If the shell is red and the meat is tender, then it means it’s done. But if you feel that it’s not done right now, pull anyone crab out the pot and check them properly from closed.

• Put crabs in the ice water:

Once you know it’s shell is red and meat is tender, directly take out the crabs from the pot and put them in the water for 7-10 minutes.

• Remove the crabs from the ice water:

Once you keep all the crabs for 10 minutes in the ice water, remove them and drain them in the colander.

• Protect the table while eating blue crabs:

Now the choice is yours if you want to protect the table with a cloth or newspaper. Enjoy eating delicious blue crabs.

Benefits Of Eating Crab

Eating crab is good for you. Do you want to know how? Here are the five reasons that eating crab is beneficial for our health.

1. Boosts Memory

The crab has omega-3 fatty acids that help in our brain development and boost our memory. The omega-3 fatty acids also help to reduce depression and inflammatory diseases.

2. Prevents Blood Clotting

Due to omega-3 acids in the crab, they help to prevent blood clotting. These fatty acids force Platelets and proteins (consist in the plasma) to stop the blood clotting.

3. Prevent Cancer

The crab is rich in selenium that helps boost our immune system and decrease cancer risk. Crabmeat will keep your selenium level high. If your selenium level is high, so there are minimum chances of cancer. Turkey’s chicken also increases the selenium level.

4. Keep Teeth And Bone Healthy

They will keep your teeth and bones healthy, either you are a child or adult. It’s because of the high amount of calcium and phosphorus in the crab meat. Calcium plays a vital role in keeping our bones and teeth healthy.

5. Improves Blood Sugar Metabolism

Crab has a good amount of chromium that improves insulin sensitivity, enhances protein and metabolism. In the metabolism process, our body consumes energy from the food.

Related Questions

Can You Freeze Cooked Blue Crabs?

Yes, You can freeze cooked blue crabs, but it would be better if you freeze crab in the shell. You can freeze them in the crab cakes as well. Make sure to keep the protection of the shell and other ingredients. If you didn’t protect the shell and other ingredients protection, maybe the crabmeat would lose its texture and taste. It’s not recommended to refreeze blue crab again and again.

Can You Eat Blue Crabs After They Die?

Yes, you can eat blue crabs after they died, but if you want to enjoy the best taste, it’s recommended to cook them alive. Make sure to cook them within 10-15 minutes after dying. It doesn’t mean that it’s necessary to cook them within 10-15 minutes. You can cook crab 24-48 hours but cook them as soon as possible to enjoy a better taste.

What to Do with Blue Crabs After Catching?

Once you catch the blue crabs, after that, directly place the crabs in a cooler. Make sure your coolers have ice packs and covered with a wet burlap sack.

If you don’t have a cooler with ice, you can store crabs in the container and place the box in the water. It’s recommended for those who love to catch crabs in the water.

Can You Freeze Blue Crabs In The Shell?

You have the option of freezing the crab whole or simply the meat. You will need to prepare them for storage, depending on how you wish to approach the situation. Because it preserves the flavor and texture of the meat, it is advised to freeze the crabs in their shells.

How Long Will Blue Crabs Last in The Fridge?

In the refrigerator, fresh crab meat keeps for 3 to 5 days. The crab meat should be surrounded by ice for the optimum storage. The crab flesh should be kept in the refrigerator’s vegetable or meat drawer with loads of ice. Crabs that have been steaming can be stored in the fridge for 5-7 days.

Final Thoughts

That was all about can you freeze blue crabs, and at the end, it’s clear to you that you can freeze blue crabs, but it’s recommended that don’t freeze the whole crab. Instead of freezing the whole crab, freeze crabs meat and legs in a separate container. Before freezing blue crabs, make sure you have cooked them. I have already mentioned how you can cook blue crabs and then freeze them for an extended period.

While deforesting, don’t thaw it in hot water. Instead of warm water, leave it overnight or sink in the cold water. I have also mentioned the shelf life of blue crabs, room temperature in the fridge, and how long you can keep them there. Do you think cleaning blue crabs is difficult? If you love to eat blue crabs instead of cleaning them, give your friend the cleaning responsibility.