Cooking FROZEN crab.. meat sticking to shell - help?

[coltong]

Sorry for all of my crab posts lately, but I ran into a big problem

I decided to portion my crabs before transport and freeze them for the trip home. The freezing worked perfectly, (they didn't thaw at any point) and we boiled half of them up for 15 mins in a pot of water at a rolling boil, all of the crab meat stuck to the shell. Don't know what went wrong, anyone have ideas?

Key points:
Crabs were killed and portioned (so they did not die and the meat didn't go bad from the enzymes beforehand)
Crabs were frozen solid and never thawed during trip home
Crabs were cooked from raw
Crabs were cooked 15 mins in one batch and tried another for a 10 min batch. Both had meat stuck to shells
Crabs did not thaw prior to going in the pot (straight from frozen)


If you have any solution to this it would be much appreciated! Having another dinner soon for friends with the remaining crabs, hoping there is a way to get around this!

 

[Clint r]

Friend of mine brought us back some frozen crab he got from a friend of his. His buddy cleaned and split his crabs then boiled for 3-5 min let them cool and froze them. We throw the frozen partially cooked crab into boiling water for 10 minutes. Never had any stick in the shell. But we've only had them this way a few times.

 

[Aces]

To be legal the crabs need to remain whole until you reach your permanent residence. Don't shoot the messenger but that's the law

 

[coltong]

To be legal the crabs need to remain whole until you reach your permanent residence. Don't shoot the messenger but that's the law

Ayy I know. I don't ever exceed my transportation limit, and I've decided that for long trips this is really my only choice. I have kept pictures and records with me so that should I ever be asked I will be able to easily provide information to a DFO officer. It's too much work to try and keep a bunch of crabs alive at a hotel for 5 days I think. I will do it for shorter trips but extended stays its too much.

 

[Canso]

Steam, then freeze, then steam again when ready to eat.

 

[mhbradley]

Next time encapsulate them in a frozen block of water and this will not happen.

Simply that when ready to cook.

As far as reversing the crab being stuck on the inside of the shell, I haven't solved that one.

 

[Sculpin]

Next time encapsulate them in a frozen block of water and this will not happen.

As far as reversing it, haven't solved that one.

That's an interesting one. Thanks for sharing. Anyone done this with whole crab in the shell?
Might help with the transport laws.

 

[coltong]

Next time encapsulate them in a frozen block of water and this will not happen.

As far as reversing it, haven't solved that one.

So you think the damage is already done at this point? I was thinking maybe if I thaw them out BEFORE I throw em in the pot.. or if I threw them in an ice bath after cooking it might separate from the shell?

 

[seadna]

Steam, then freeze, then steam again when ready to eat.

^^^^This - the meat releases more easily after freezing if you do it this way.

 

[Dave S]

So you think the damage is already done at this point? I was thinking maybe if I thaw them out BEFORE I throw em in the pot.. or if I threw them in an ice bath after cooking it might separate from the shell?

I have had this happen before. Not sure why it happens, but freezing before cooking is now a no no imo. Also had it happen when I left the uncooked halves in a bowl in the fridge over night. There must be a reason it`s much more common fish markets tend to sell crab either alive or cooked.

I`d think that by boiling the crab then straight into ice water and leaving in there until cold would help. May mean eating the crab cold though, which still tastes great.

 

[coltong]

^^^^This - the meat releases more easily after freezing if you do it this way.

Steam, then freeze, then steam again when ready to eat.

How long to steam before throwing in the freezer? and how long for the second steaming? Say I had a pot big enough for 10 crab sections (5 crabs but no carapace)

 

[wolf]

Yes ive tried every way imaginable to freeze it but to no avail...

But thing is your still breaking the law by what your doing in the book it doesnt say its ok to have a picture or etc etc. im not trying to be a butt here but your thinking in your mind your doing it right... but your really not.... best thing to solve this whole thing PHONE DFO and im sure I know what they will say....

 

[Aces]

Yes ive tried every way imaginable to freeze it but to no avail...

But thing is your still breaking the law by what your doing in the book it doesnt say its ok to have a picture or etc etc. im not trying to be a butt here but your thinking in your mind your doing it right... but your really not.... best thing to solve this whole thing PHONE DFO and im sure I know what they will say....

You are absolutely correct, Roy.

I have had this conversation with our local officers whom i know well and if this person had been checked by DFO he would have gotten a fine and had the crab confiscated/story

 

[Sentinel]

Well I say the hotel became his residence and he was within the law. It would be pretty ticky tac to write someone for that. It would preclude you from going to a buddy's house and cooking the days catch cause he has a big boiler pot and cold beer and then bringing your portion home parted out. We got a lot of stupid rules like this in the states as well. Sometimes you just have to take the moral high ground and rule yourself lol. BTW Coltlong we have tried about every way to freeze crab as well and a 5 min dip in hot/boiling water then freeze and 10 min on the other end will do the trick. Freezing raw crab does not work any way, any how. Freezing semi cooked crab and then reboiling is OK and you can freeze for up to a month or two but any longer and it gets fishy and stringy. Canning is a bit better but it will never be mistaken for fresh.

 

[Samnjoe]

Agreed it is the letter of the law but that does not make it sensible or right.
Our possession and transport rules are ridiculous and compromise the quality of our catch and our access to the resource.
That is except for those who fish in their own back yard.
Everything we do is being regulated into oblivion whether it be hunting, fishing, or even access in general to our outdoors.
Sometimes you just have to trust in your own sense of right and wrong, make your own rules, and take your chances.

You are absolutely correct, Roy.

I have had this conversation with our local officers whom i know well and if this person had been checked by DFO he would have gotten a fine and had the crab confiscated/story

 

[directmule]

Well I say the hotel became his residence and he was within the law. It would be pretty ticky tac to write someone for that. .

Page #42 "Crabs must have their carapace (shell) attached so they can be readily counted, measured and identified until such time as they arrive at your ordinary residence."

I wouldn't call a hotel "his residence" since it's not his "ordinary residence"

 

[trophy fisher]

... trust in your own sense of right and wrong, make your own rules, and take your chances.

And when DFO takes your crabs and sells your gear don't come whining on here that it's not fair and bash DFO for enforcing the rules. TF

 

[coltong]

A lot of interesting responses to both the freezing and the means of transporting them legally.

I would argue that not being able to process the crabs ahead of time on a 5+ day trip is quite frankly ridiculous, and in regards to directmule's statement if an "ordinary residence" is my home 5 hours away and I'm at a hotel in Vancouver, and the DFO website does say "It is prohibited to have in one's possession shelled or shucked crab, except at a person's place of ordinary residence." (http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/rec/species-especes/crab-crabe-eng.html), does that mean if I cooked up 2 crabs for myself and got full and saved 1 full crab as leftovers, I now have to throw it out into the garbage and waste a perfectly good crab into the garbage because a single technicality says I can't bring it home within the confines of the law? I think the term "ordinary residence" is used loosely on an individual basis, and more of a means to use it in court against obvious poaching. Like Sentinel said.. if everyone who is quoting the DFO page took it to be a literal translation of what it means by "ordinary residence", anyone who brought crab to a friends house would have to leave their portion of crab fully in tact, and if a claw or two broke off while you were cooking it, you best be throwing it in the garbage and not bringing it home.

Also, I see my hotel as being my ordinary residence when I'm down in Vancouver. I don't go to other places to stay - I go to my hotel, eat, sleep, and center my life there. It has BECOME my ordinary residence for the time being.

I'm sure DFO has better things to do than chase people who are within their crab limits/size/gender, who are cooking them up at a hotel instead of their house or condo in their home town.

Not taking offense to any of this, it's actually rather interesting to have a discourse about the wording on the website. I most definitely want to stay within the means of the law, but if using strict literal meanings of words, I would safely assume the majority of the members on this forum have technically committed a crime.

Also - many suggestions for quickly cooking crab for 5 minutes followed by freezing. Will definitely try this.

 

[Sentinel]

Doesn't it feel grand to be micromanaged?

 

[Canso]

How long to steam before throwing in the freezer? and how long for the second steaming? Say I had a pot big enough for 10 crab sections (5 crabs but no carapace)

I steam for 5mins and re steam for 5 mins... for whole crab maybe longer
also i dont leave the crab in the freezer for more then a week or 2.