Soft crab hint.

[Boatdog]

I was talking to a "good ole girl" down in Cambridge. She told me "If you have soft crabs that may have been in the freezer too long, drop the frozen crabs into a pot of heavily salted, boiling water for two minutes. Take the crabs out of the water and drain, then fry them up like you would normally. It's supposed to get rid of the fishy taste. I don't know if this is true, but, after talking to this woman for a while I would have to give it a try.

Joe

[POLECAT]

Thanks for passing that tip along.

Coincidentally, we are having soft crabs this evening and will give it a try even though they've only been in the freezer since September of last year.

[SteveL]

Another tip for older softies that have been frozen a long time--they make very good bait, thats what I do with any that have been in the freezer too long.

[temgejr]

I've never had the problem of having too many that I had to keep in the freezer! Do you guys try to catch them or go out and buy them?

[POLECAT]

The doublers I catch come home with me and get sloughed. I haven't bought a soft crab in more than 25 years.

The peelers that die during sloughing get recycled as fish bait.

Crabs that die before steaming are frozen and then put thru a leaf shredder. They become chum.

Waste not, want not!

[crabby and son]

The doublers I catch come home with me and get sloughed. I haven't bought a soft crab in more than 25 years.

The peelers that die during sloughing get recycled as fish bait.

Crabs that die before steaming are frozen and then put thru a leaf shredder. They become chum.

Waste not, want not!

Bet your leaf shreader smells good:D Looking at your garage, I bet you never have thrown anything away:clap: waste not,want not........worked for us:thumbup:.........Gary

[POLECAT]

Thanks for passing that tip along.

Coincidentally, we are having soft crabs this evening and will give it a try even though they've only been in the freezer since September of last year.

Well, things happen and it wasn't until last night we had the soft crabs. Here's the results:

Five of them were well wrapped in plastic sandwich bags and all placed in a Tupperware container and placed in a freezer since shedding them out last September.

They were thawed out in the frig for longer than planned. Since they were thawed and not frozen, Mary placed 2 of them in boiling water for one (1) minute instead of the two (2) minutes recommended for frozen crabs.

Mary did this when I was not in the kitchen so I had no knowledge which crabs got the hot bath.

All of the crabs were delicious! And none of them had freezer burn or appeared to be freezer damaged. Even with my "not so sensitive" taste buds I could easily tell the difference between the crabs that were and were not given the hot bath. I was correct 100%. Mary, whose sense of taste is outstanding, agreed that the hot bath did "freshen" the crabs somewhat by removing the (very) little oily flavor of the crabs that received the hot bath. Other than submersing 2 of the 5 crabs in boiling hot salted water for one minute, all 5 of them were prepared exactly the same way.

To Mary and me it seems the "good ole girl" down in Cambridge knows her stuff when it comes to soft crabs!

[rgminer]

Freeze them upside down

If they are in the freezer for more then 3-4 months, soak them in buttermilk before frying them, it does the same thing, but they don't fry up as tough.

[POLECAT]

Not disputing your advice rgmnier, but the soft crabs we has last night were not tough. They seemed as tender as freshly shed. They tasted delish....................

[flats cat]

You guys are making me hungry. Had some fresh ones on Tuesday and now I want some more!

[Boatdog]

Polecat, I'm glad it worked.
If you ever go to The Point restaurant, in Cambridge, tell the cashier thanks.

rgminer, is there a reason why you should freeze them upside down?

[whynot]

TRY FREEZING SOME IN TAP WATER . PUT SOFTY CLEANED IN BAGGY COVERED COMPLETELY WITH WATER AND FREEZE. AFTER 6 MONTHS THEY COME OUT JUST LIKE YOU PUT THEM IN . LONGER THAN THAT THEY DO PICK UP THAT TASTE AND SMELL . i'LL HAVE TO TRY LIKE THE LADY SAID .
IF YOU WANT TO SAVE SOFTIES FOR BAIT DO THE SAME THING AND THEY DO NOT FALL APART LIKE THEY DO WHEN YOU FREEZE THEM WITHOUT WATER

WORKS WITH PEELERS TOO BUT YOU HAVE TO USE HARD CONTAINERS AND NOT BAGGIES TO STOP LEAKING FROM POINTS

TONY

[Riptide1947]

If you freeze them in water, use only bottled water..........REASON : Most tap water from a municipal water supply is heavily chlorinated, and that won't preserve the freshness very well.