Got some blue crabs and put them straight on ice. Got home and poured them in a pot of water and froze it. Now everyone is telling me not to eat them. is it really true and why?
Crabs spoil quickly after they die and they are loaded with bacteria that will quickly run rampant after it dies. Never ever eat a crab that was dead before it hits the pot.
'06 Mckee Craft
184 Marathon
DF140 Suzuki
They get real mushy when you freeze them. They are not going to taste good.
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Originally posted by penfishn around every bend theres the promise of a treasure that can only be caught and seen in a blink.. and in your minds eye..and sometimes if youre lucky..in a picture..its there for just a minute...then gone..but hopefully once youve seen it it will remain in your heart forever. Theres nothing like the "Smell" and sounds of the creek. Its not just one thing that makes it familiar..its all of it.
I ice to let them go night-night, shuck, and scrub out. They are then ready to cook or keep iced or chilled until you cook. They will keep a few days properly chilled. Then when I spice-um-up and cook they go straight to the plate and in my belly!!!
Then you can freeze left-overs in pot stock or water and eat again later. They are better steamed then when you reheat and then will be a little soft but, still not bad. You want all the guts and lungs and such cleaned out asap. I would not eat ones like you mentioned! If you had boiled or steamed them before you froze it would be ok. I just prefer not to deal with all that mess while hot and I’m ready to eat.
And BTW - you ain’t never been sick 'till you eat some bad seafood!!!
J Ford
well thats a shame. thanks for saving me a trip to the ER though
You must cook fully before you freeze…
hey black angus! Imiss seeing you!
miss’n fish’n
212 SEAHUNT CC
Sea Squirt 16
Hey how are you penny? Im hanging around fishing every chance i get.
Same here…when I’m not working…I’m in the creek as much as I can be…and cooking to keep Donnie happy …so I can go in the creek to make me happy 
lol
miss’n fish’n
212 SEAHUNT CC
Sea Squirt 16
HIJACKERS ^^^^ 
Putting them on ice doesn’t kill them, it puts them in kind of a catatonic state. I caught some on a Saturday, kept them on ice until Sunday and they were still alive. Do not let them sit in water though, funny but that does seem to kill them.
“Apathy is the Glove in Which Evil Slips It’s Hand”.
thats an odd thought. unfortunately when i get them its with a gig point so they dont last long!
easiest thing is to clean them, then freeze them. pop the claws off then peel the shell back and get all the guts and stuff out so there is nothing left but the meat inside the shell along th legs. then you can freeze them that way but eat them pretty quick or the meat will pretty much disintegrate
“Good things come to those who bait”
I stayed up till 5 the other mornin pickin some clean to make crab cakes. wasnt impressed think ill stick to boilin em
If you are going to sit and pick them, make crab rice. My absolute favorite crab dish. My wife makes it and it is delicious.
“Apathy is the Glove in Which Evil Slips It’s Hand”.
may not be good to eat but you can at least use them for bait so they dont go to waste. reds, black drum, bonnetheads, and big sheephead will still hit them. i always cleaned my crab and steamed right away and leftovers were fine frozen in gallon bags for a couple months, but absolutely the fresher the better.
About 10 years ago or so, when you could really still really catch some good number and sized crabs I learned about a Crab Cracker. I saw a guy in the Edisto Campground with one. Said he got it from an online tackle store in New Jersey. Matter a fact I got the link off a search on CF. They did like we did - had two 4 hole pots and some hand nets. We use to get 50+ keepers in a day. All the big crabs we iced and cleaned and left whole. Those were to steam, fry, or put in LowCounty Boil. All the smaller crabs say 5-6", after cleaning we would break in half and run thru a cracker. The cracker was heavy food grade plastic - half circle on top and flat bottom - knurling inside - handle on top. Stick legs in slot and roll the handle forward twice. Each half crab gave you about a Tbsp of crab meat. You could do 3 dozen in 20 min or so. Meat was clean and ready for crab cakes or casserole. I use to put out my two pots every chance I got. Last few years just got where we hardly got any keepers at all. Just quit trying. They are some good eats!!!
http://store.scottsbt.com/Fishing/Crabbing/Crabmaster.aspx
J Ford
well that looks helpful! what is crab rice?
Sniper, drop a long handled dip net in one of your rod holders when you are gigging. That way you can scoop the crabs rather than gig them (not that I haven’t gigged my share). They stay alive much better and an added bonus is they make getting your flounder out of the cooler at the end of the night a bit more of a “challenge”
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well that looks helpful! what is crab rice?
I’ll post her recipe.
“Apathy is the Glove in Which Evil Slips It’s Hand”.