Can I freeze the crabs if I can’t finish them?

Crabs are not a precious food to people in coastal areas, but to people in inland areas, they are a delicacy. Generally speaking, it is difficult for people in inland areas to eat particularly fresh seafood. Most of the seafood is artificially farmed or has been caught a long time ago, and they are only willing to eat it on special days such as the New Year and other festivals. So if you can’t finish the crabs, can you freeze them?

1. Can crabs be frozen?

(1) Can frozen crabs be eaten?

If you can’t finish eating the live crabs you bought home, you can freeze them to keep them fresh. This way they can be stored longer, at least for a week. Although frozen crabs are not as delicious as fresh crabs, and they will become thinner during the freezing process, freezing is a better way to preserve crabs. Frozen crabs must be thawed before steaming, and must be steamed thoroughly before eating.

(2) Freezing method

Tie the crab's legs with ropes to prevent them from moving around and consuming nutrients in their bodies. Crabs are quite clever, so this step must be done carefully. Then arrange the tied crabs in order and place a slightly damp towel on the crabs so that they will not lack water. Finally, be careful not to let the temperature in the refrigerator be too low, as crabs may freeze to death easily.

(3) How to prepare frozen crab

When you take the frozen crabs out of the refrigerator, the first thing you need to do is thaw them. You can thaw them directly with cold water. Then soak the crabs in water, remove their internal organs, soak them in salt water for a while, chop the crabs into large pieces, put them into the steamer, and sprinkle them with shredded ginger and green onions. Finally, start steaming directly on the fire, but be careful not to use too high a fire.

2. Other storage methods

In addition to preserving crabs by freezing, we can also keep the crabs temporarily, which can also keep the crabs fresh. Prepare a large bucket, put the live crab in it, and then pour water to half the height of the crab's body. Remember not to let the water overflow the crab, otherwise it will cause the crab to die from lack of oxygen. At the same time, in order to prevent the crabs from becoming thin, they need to be fed some food during the temporary rearing process, such as sesame seeds and crushed eggs.