Can You Freeze Crab Meat?

Crab meat is the meat of the crab and it is used in cuisines all around the world. This meat is very popular because of its delicate taste, but it is usually expensive. Not all people can afford themselves crab meat and enjoy in its softness and flavor. There are many species of crab meat in the world, but some of the most popular are brown crab, blue crabs, red and blue swimming crabs, etc.

There are many appetizers, main meals and also desserts that you can make using crab meat. Some of the favorite meals in restaurants are crab meat stuffing, crab stuffed with twice baked potatoes, crab meat salad, etc.

There is also the crab meat cake, a popular recipe that should be made of fresh crab meat, so in this case it is best not to use frozen crab meat or crab meat in a can.

But, have you ever wondered what to do if you have some leftovers of crab meat? Or if you have a whole crab that you cannot use in the next few days? In this case it may be best to freeze it. But, will the freezing process destroy its taste and freshness? Will the crab meat change in texture and flavor?

In this article you will find out all you need to know about crab meat. We will tell you if it is good to freeze crab meat or it may not be a good idea. If you use crab meat often and if you love to prepare meals of crab meat, then you will certainly like this article.

Is it Possible to Freeze Crab Meat?

If you have eaten crab meat and you have some leftovers, you may be wondering what to do with them. You can throw them out, but it is not a very good idea. There is a better option and it is freezing crab meat. It is absolutely safe to freeze crab meat because it will help you use it even after a longer period of time.

Most important is to freeze crab meat properly, in order to save its freshness and its taste. Now when you know that it is possible to freeze crab meat, we will tell you how to do it fast and easily.

How to Freeze Crab Meat?

The first step in freezing crab meat is to determine what is the amount of crab meat that you have. If you have only a small amount of this meat, then you can simply use a freezer bag that is in size of a gallon. But, if you have a bigger amount of crab meat or if you have a whole crab, then you have to use freezer bags that are much larger or special freezer paper.

So, when you have prepared a freezer bag or a freezer paper, you can start with the whole process of freezing crab. Of course, it is important to decide if you want to freeze a whole crab, crab legs or crab meat only. We will explain you in detail how to do it.

If you have to freeze a whole crab that has been boiled, then you should first cool it down. The next step is to cut the tips of the crab legs, because they may poke through a freezer bag or paper. After that you should take the legs of the crab and put them around its belly. When you have done that, your crab is ready to freeze. Place the crab in a freezer bag or paper, as we have already said above, and store the crab in the freezer.

However, if you want to freeze the crab legs, the process is the same as we have explained above. But, if there is a whole crab in front of you and if you want to freeze its legs only, it is necessary to clean your crab first. After that you can cut the legs of the crab and freeze them. We recommend you to use special freezer bags, but you have to get air out of this bag.

Now we will tell you how to freeze crab meat. The first and the most important step is to clean the crab meat. You have to remove the shell and also the insides of the crab and you can take the meat. Snap off the claws of the crab and throw them out, because they are useless. You should also remove the gills of the crab and the stomach. Then you should break the body of the crab in half and rinse these halves in water. There will not be too much meat, but you can use kitchen shears to get the meat from the crab legs. When the crab meat is cleaned, you need to take freezer bags and pack the meat.

Crab meat can be stored in the freezer for a couple of months, even a year, if it is stored properly. When you decide to use this meat, you have to thaw it first. Remember that you should never let it thaw at room temperature, because this way your crab meat may spoil and lose its freshness. It is necessary to put the crab meat in the fridge and to let it thaw. The crab meat will be thawed in one day approximately. When it is thawed, you should use this meat after a couple of days. If you let it stay in the fridge for more than a week, it will lose its freshness and it will change in taste. On the other hand, if you have frozen crab legs, you don’t have to thaw them. You can simply put them in boiling water while they are still frozen. Nothing bad will happen and they will thaw this way.

Now you have seen how to freeze crab meat and how to thaw it before use. We have told you that you should clean the crab meat before you put it in the freezer. But, it is also important to mention that you can freeze a whole crab without cleaning it first. It means that you will have to clean it after the thawing process.

So, if the crab is frozen, you have to thaw it and then clean it because you haven’t done this before freezing. Place the frozen crab in cool water and let it stay this way about 15 or 20 minutes. When the crab meat is thawed you can use it in different purposes.

Conclusion

You have seen in this article that it is possible to freeze crab meat, which may also be the best option if you don’t know what to do with this meat. As we have already said, most important is to freeze crab meat properly, in order to maintain its freshness and taste. You have to clean crab meat first and put it in the special freezer bags or paper.

When you decide to use the frozen crab meat, you have to thaw it in the fridge and let it stay for a couple of hours or overnight. After that you can use your crab meat to make different meals and you can be sure that it is of the same quality as it was before freezing.

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