Can live crabs be frozen in the refrigerator?

Crabs are a type of aquatic product that lives in water. As we all know, aquatic products have a characteristic, that is, after leaving the water, aquatic products are very difficult to preserve. If they are not properly preserved, they will easily spoil and become inedible. When preserving crabs, certain preservation methods are also needed to better preserve the crabs and lock in their delicious taste, but can live crabs be frozen in the refrigerator?

Method 1: Storing crabs in the refrigerator

Crabs are fresh aquatic products and have a short shelf life after leaving water. It is relatively simple to preserve crabs if the quantity purchased can be eaten within about 3 days: choose active crabs, tie up the crab's legs and claws to reduce the crab's physical consumption, then place them in the refrigerator and cover them with a wet towel. When eating every day, pick out the crabs that are not energetic enough first. The crabs that are full of energy can continue to be preserved.

How do you know if crabs are energetic enough?

The way to distinguish them is to touch the crab's eyes lightly with your hand. If it does not react quickly, it means it is not very active.

Method 2: Preserve crabs in plastic buckets/basins

Prepare a 30-50 cm high plastic bucket or basin, as the inner wall of the plastic bucket/basin is smooth and difficult to escape. Put the crab in it, and then add water to half the height of the crab's body - mainly for moisturizing. Do not bury the hairy crab completely. If the water is too deep, the crab will suffocate and die due to lack of oxygen. The bucket/basin does not need to be covered. If this method is used to preserve crabs, the hairy crabs can be preserved for more than 5 days when the temperature is not high.

Method 3: Preserving crabs in a temporary pond

If you buy more crabs than you can eat in three to five days, you cannot use the above storage method. The best way is to use your own bathtub as a temporary storage pool and let the crabs enjoy it first: because the walls of the bathtub are smooth, the crabs cannot escape. Then gently pour the crabs into the bathtub and fill it with water to just bury the crabs. If the crabs stand up their eight legs, they can breathe on the water surface. Depending on the storage time and quantity, you can add a small amount of small fish and shrimp. Crabs can generally be stored in this way for more than 7 days or longer. The survival rate of good quality crabs can reach more than 95%.

Special reminder: If you are not eating it immediately, please do not wash it with water, otherwise the crab will die. If the indoor temperature does not exceed 15℃, there is no need to put it in the refrigerator. Under normal circumstances, it can be stored for 5-7 days, but the crab will become thinner if stored for too long. The taste will not be affected if eaten within 3 days.

What should you pay attention to before storing crabs in the refrigerator?

Frozen crabs are of course not as delicious as fresh ones! But as long as you grasp a little secret, that is, boil them in boiling water before freezing, let them cool, and then put them in the refrigerator. When you are ready to cook them, take them out and cook them. The meat will be very delicious!

How long can dead crabs be kept in the refrigerator?

This issue needs to be treated differently: dead river crabs cannot be eaten; crabs from the sea can be eaten as long as they are not smelly.