Crab question...
 

Someone just told me my crabs were no longer good. Heres the story. We went crabbing yesterday and got 6.5 doz crabs didnt wanna rush n boil em yesterday so we kept em in the cooler on ice and are goin to boil em today... Someone told me today that u cant do that bc it killed them so they are no longer good... My parents have done this for years with no problems... Whats yalls opinions?

Samsung Galaxy S3 (Android dominating the world!)

No expert but, if they stayed cold, I don't see a problem.

We just dumped em out n started to clean em and they are 90percent still alive

Samsung Galaxy S3 (Android dominating the world!)

Kinda like not eating "dead" crawfish...

Alive is good. As long as they not under the water

Cook dat!!

If theyre moving and not drowned, boil the water n grub!

What happens when a crab drowns in a cooler full of ice? Do they become waterlogged?

If crabs are kept in ICE cold water even if they died in the water they are still fine for a day or so after.....

With that said.... ideally you want to keep them sitting on top of the ice in a cooler and a wet towel laying over them, with the lid propped up a hair so that they can get oxygen.


using a method like this crabs can survive for 2-3 days out of water with very low mortality.

They are still good unless they smell like urine. We keep them in a cooler for days at work. Cook them. If one taste bad don't eat it.

Crabs
 

If you put crabs in an ice chest and do not drain it, they will drown.

Just open the plug and keep them cold and they will be good. A guy I know used to put them live in a freezer and boil them later.

Big ND Fan

The problem with eating dead crawfish is that you don't now how long they have been dead, you may get one that has been dead a week, you know how long the crabs were dead if you caught em the day before

somthing about urea or something that is released when they die

Dump em out in a sunny spot most will start trying to kill you again in a few minutes!!!

10% of the fishermen catch 90% of the fish

Here is what I do to keep the crabs before cooking them.

I bring plenty of ice with me to keep them cool after catching them. When I get home, I usually transfer the crabs to a 48 qt. ice chest. I then cover them with a wet towel. I put a generous amount of ice on top of the towel.

I then open the drain and put in a piece of cloth or paper towel. This helps keep in the cold air but allows the water to drain out. I put a 2x4 board under the opposite end of the ice chest to allow all the water to flow toward the drain.

I then put the ice chest in a spot that will be out of the sun. This is important to find a cool shady spot to keep the ice chest from getting hot from sitting in the sun. During the hot summer time, I also cover the ice chest with a wet towel.

Check the ice chest and add more ice as needed. I usually don't boil my crabs until the next day and this method will keep them alive for a couple days if needed.

I am not sure if this is true ......but......I have been told that if a crab is stored up-side down, it will die. Also, if a crab is not cold [ie. still moving around] it will "drop" the claws when it is put into the boiling water.

Here are a few pictures. The crabs in the basket are "cull" size after I keep all that are 6"+ tip to tip.

Here are few more pictures.

.

AND for gods sake... PLEASE dont boil your crabs.... STEAM THEM with seasonings on the outside of the shell.

everything else is better boiled.... crawfish, shrimp, etc..... but crabs are meant to be steamed!!!!

I like mine's boiled barely then soaked, I want juice and seasoning in my crabs just like my crawfish.

So, this is my way of disagreeing.

You know your Cajun when someone says don't eat the dead ones while eating boiled crawfish and you know what they mean

:rotfl:

My neighbor cooked some this way and just threw some OldBay on them and steamed em, they were awesome. May start doing this also, the insides weren't as messy when peeling them

You can use the same pot you use to boil crabs in to steam them. you just need to get a lid that fits decent (or cover pot with a wet towel when steaming)

put a couple cleaned rocks / bricks in the bottom of the pot and lay a grate on them. fill up to the grate with a mixture of 1/2 water (or beer or a mix thereof) and 1/2 apple cider vinegar.

get that to a rolling boil. put cold crabs in layers in the pot quickly... after putting in a layer of a dozen or so crabs sprinkle seasoning on that layer.... proceed to next layer etc.....etc.... etc... until pots full or your out of crabs.

turn fire back up so you go back to rolling boil... cover pot good and after about 2-3 minutes when good steam appears let them steam for 18-20 minutes.

after they are done turn fire off open pot (dont burn yourself on the steam) and then serve..

the meat remains succulent (its VERY moist) and has a much stronger crab flavor. if you like more seasoning just dip em in a bit of the stuff caked on the shell. For dipping the crabs lumps in... my favorites are..

1) drawn butter with some lemon juice and basil chopped in it.

2) apple cider vinegar with a little bit of seasoning mixed in it.

3) soy sauce, Garlic powder, and a dash of sesame oil


to make the seasoning for the crabs just mix 1/2 old bay with 1/2 kosher salt (old bay by itself on crabs doesn't produce good results.)


Do yourself a favor, try it once... you won't be disappointed.

also as said earlier if you let your crabs go dormant in an ice chest with ice on them. When you steam / boil them they wont loose there legs/claws. But if they are lively when you put em in the steamer expect every single leg to be off the crabs.

That is one stud of a jimmy crab your little boy is holding!!!! Bushel of that size would probably go for over 200$ in maryland right now. :)

Well done!

Ok, gotta comment
 

My experience is that if you put your crabs in the water before you put the heat to it, most of the crab legs and claws will stay on the crab. Think about the Aesop fable, the one about the frog that sits in the water and doesn't jump out when he can but then the water gets so hot that it cooks his little a$$. If you throw live crabs into boiling water, most of them will "eject" their legs and claws, but if you bring the heat up gradually, that won't happen. Read this in a cooking article years ago by a N.O. chef so I tried it and it works. Not saying all the legs/claws will still be on the crabs, but most will. Now, if you've got to make a second batch, you're SOL.:*****:

Nice catch - Looking to take the wife crabbing by boat around Big Lake. Any ideas where to go? Thanks

I usually clean my crabs before I boil them and have no problem with the legs falling off

For all you guys that don't want crabs after a day on ice, pm me for an address to dump them.

I have run into this problem several times. I catch them, place crabs in ice chest with ice, pull plug and tilt chest. The next day no water and crabs are dormant. I boil/steam them like normal. Why sometime the meat is mushy and sometime its firm?

They are NOT good. Do Not eat them. Bring them to me and I will take care of disposing of them.

Its important to put them in boiling water and cook only 12 minutes. Mushy crabs are from over cooking 99% of the time. If your crabs will sit in an ice chest for more than 20 minutes before eating reduce the cooking time by 3 minutes. Remember when holding hot in an ice chest they are still cooking.

If you clean them you loose all the flavor in that fat. Uncle Frances use to crack open them crabs and suck up all the fat and guts. That was his favorit part.

In the old days Louisiana crabs were shipped to Marilyn in wooden crates with wet moss (from oak trees) layered between the crabs. (Just like live shrimp were put in wooden nail kegs with damp cypress saw-dust between them - they would stay live all day long on a fishing trip)
I would put all my crabs caught in our shrimp trawl in onion sacks & set them aside in the shade in the boat. Every hour or so I would pick up the sake and sink it in the salt water on the side of the boat for a minute or so. When we got home, the crabs were all alive, madder than hell, but alive. In an ice chest (not in the water) is OK but not necessary. When a crab dies it secretes an enzyme that breakes down the meat and aids in the decomposition. That is what makes it musshy not over cooking. I all ways boil (or steam) my crabs 20 minutes and they are firm & great.
Captain Lvallee

I leave the fat and guts in em especially for stew. Just take the gills out

I don't really care for them boiled anymore. BBQ crabs is the way to go, but takes a little work before hand.

Boiled mine for 5 minutes and let them soak for 10 yesterday. Came out perfect!!

boil for 12 soak for 20. thats my policy. father n law boils for 20 and no soak.... his are better than mine??!!??

Mushy crabs.......another reason crabs could be mushy after cooking is because there was not enough ice kept in the ice chest.

I took some family members out crabbing a few years ago [2 boats] and we both caught limits. We came home and cooked about half of them. They were great.

When my SIL was getting ready to leave, I asked him if he wanted to put some more ice on the crabs he had. He said he would do that when he got home. I talked with my SIL a few days later and he said when he cooked his crabs the next day.....a bunch were mushy. I asked if he had put more ice and he said he put a little bit and thought that would be enough.

I wish i could get ya'll to just try steaming em... say so long to mushy crabs... forever......


But i suspect i will have as much success at this as i did at getting marylanders to boil their shrimp.....

I believe you that they come out great, I've just always boiled them and had them come out perfect, like the old saying goes, if it ain't broke don't fix it. I'll probably try it one day though.