Yet another experiment........................ Steamed crabs in January

[POLECAT]

Back on October 19, '09 I steamed a Bu. of Jimmies that were excellent fare. I decided to conduct an experiment that I have been wanting to try for a very long time............................. so I did!


I took 6 steamed crabs and wrapped them individually in paper, placed them in a zip lock bag and placed them in the freezer. Before freezing all crabs were brought to room temperature.

I also took another 6 Jimmies, and placed them in a tupperware container and placed it in the freezer.

Another 6 Jimmies were wrapped individually in paper, vacuum sealed and placed in the freezer.


Today I removed the first batch and sampled them. Not bad!!! Not as good as fresh steamed, but better than spending $$$$ at a seafood place for imports. I let the first two crabs thaw somewhat before placing them in the microwave oven. The next two were brought to room temp and then microwaved for 1 minute each (1300 Watt oven). The remaining two were eaten at room temp. They tasted better than the first four. All crabs that were nuked were more difficult to remove the meat from. Claw meat stuck to the shell on them, whereas the non nuked crabs were more moist and were easier to pick. All nuked crabs had a slight odor to them unlike the ones not placed in the microwave.

On a scale of 10 with 10 being the best I would rate the taste of them to be about a 6.5.

The next batch will be steamed before eating. I will report on them in the near future.

If you have ever conducted a trial similar to this, I would be interested in hearing about it.

Stay tuned.

[capt brad]

We did something simular w/ Alaska crabs Liz got from the Deadly Catch guys They all said to nuke but I got the best results resteaming just til they thaw and heat up a little. Never tried it w/Blue crabs, but the claw meat (what little there is) on the Aks did stick some

When I siad claw I meant the actual claw part. The legs and body were fine. The body part did have a faint oder, but tasted fine.

[Burchbeer]

I think steaming the crabs back to life is the best way to go. I do as Brad explains above with Alaskan and stone crabs. Let us know what happens.

[Capt. Dale]

Instead of nuking them try placing in the oven, they may have more moisture.
Thats how we do Snow Crabs.

[rock n crab]

A few years back I took some freah crab and placed them in the frig till they were slow moving.... I then removed their shells and blew out the guts with a hose and vacuum sealed them raw.... I placed their claws in a seperate bag and vacuum sealed them as well.


A few months later I took them out and steamed them. The claws were a little tough to get the meat out but tasted fine.... the bodies were good, not as good as fresh caught but good... the first batch was a little tough I believe due to over cooking... Doesn't take long to cook a crab that has been cleaned before it is steamed...... The second batch was better......

On a scale from 1 to 10 I'd rate them at a 6 but it's a lot of work for a very small reward...... they were however much better then the ones I bought last week form the crab shack up the road... these are being caught down south and from the grit my guess is they are being dredged.... any grit in my crab is a total turn-off.....

[crabby and son]

I think the microwave is your enemy in this process. I think the best way to freeze crab meat is to pick it all from the steamed crab, freeze it in small balls on a cookie sheet and they vacuum seal it. Interesting red and experiment though...........Gary

[rock n crab]

I freeze alot of crab meat for the winter; I'll pick out what carb are left over from our meals and we freeze the meat in either freezer ziplocks or vacuum sealed bags in 2 cup portions; both work well... The trick to this is thawing it... If you rush the thaw in any way (microwave, or soaking in hot water) the meat will be mushy... we place the bags of frozen meat in the frig to thaw and the meat comes out perfect, you can make crab cakes or dip just as you would with fresh picked crab meat...... but this does not supstitute what Polecat and others are shooting for and that's the ability to have "picking crab" in the winter...... But you know what, not having them in the winter might be the reason we enjoy them so much in the summer.......

I live in white Plains Md and the crab shack (Mo's crab shack) up the street from me right on 301 is open Friday thru Sunday and plan to have crab all winter brought up from the south.... the last batch I had were gritty but I plan to try one more time.......... their steamed shrimp are the best so I use that as a fall back :) enjoy and look forward to next season.....

[bel air fishman]

We have always frozen a few steamed crabs to eat over the winter. We re-steam them just enough to warm them up- works best to get the steam going before putting in the crabs. Also make sure not to over steam them in the first place.
Not the same as fresh, of course, but not bad and the price is right.

[Capt. Dale]

I freeze alot of crab meat for the winter; I'll pick out what carb are left over from our meals and we freeze the meat in either freezer ziplocks or vacuum sealed bags in 2 cup portions; both work well... The trick to this is thawing it... If you rush the thaw in any way (microwave, or soaking in hot water) the meat will be mushy... we place the bags of frozen meat in the frig to thaw and the meat comes out perfect, you can make crab cakes or dip just as you would with fresh picked crab meat...... but this does not supstitute what Polecat and others are shooting for and that's the ability to have "picking crab" in the winter...... But you know what, not having them in the winter might be the reason we enjoy them so much in the summer.......

I live in white Plains Md and the crab shack (Mo's crab shack) up the street from me right on 301 is open Friday thru Sunday and plan to have crab all winter brought up from the south.... the last batch I had were gritty but I plan to try one more time.......... their steamed shrimp are the best so I use that as a fall back :) enjoy and look forward to next season.....

Old Mo gets around he was in Accokeek. years ago he had a steamer crab truck in Eastover by the DC line!

[Fat Jimmy]

rock n crab- I think you hit the nail on the head about why we (or at least I) enjoy them so much in the summer/fall. I don't buy 'em anymore, so when I can't catch 'em, I go without, or just get by with the meat i've frozen. I can tell you this, by the time that first trip rolls around in late May- i'm chomping at the bit for that first steamer pot full!! Plus, there's oysters, shrimp, crab legs etc to get me through the winter.