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Cooking blue crabs

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  • Cooking blue crabs

    Last week I got a dozen fresh blue crabs from a coworker who'd gotten them from a guy he knew. They were mostly dead (not long-dead; a few were actually still kicking a bit). I took them home and stuck them in the freezer, where they remain.

    Are they OK to eat, and how do you cook 'em? I was just going to toss them in a steamer, but if there are useful recipes, I'll take 'em.
    ~~ Every politician that opens their mouth on birth control only proves that we need more of it. ~~

  • #2
    The only advice I have is this: if they died and then were at an unsafe temp (above 40F) for too long, bacteria may have grown to a harmful level. Yes, you can kill it off via heat, but at certain levels the toxins produced by the die-off of the bacteria can make you sick. All the danger is in the amount of bacteria, whether living or dead. That said, I'd be asking some questions of your friend.
    "Is it hot in here to you? It's very warm, isn't it?"--Nero, probably

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    • #3
      If they were dead when you got them do not eat them.

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      • #4
        The above - I would not cook and eat them at this time. Seafood goes bad amazingly fast.

        Now, when you get the next batch of blue crabs, toss the dead ones immediately. The live ones, toss them into the tub to play while you get a huge pot of water [one of the 2 or 3 gallon pasta pots is what I use, the kind that have the basket] to a good boil. I will throw in a palm full of kosher salt, maybe 2 tablespoons or so per gallon. Drop the crabs into the basket and put the lid on. I use a brick to keep the lid on if they are active enough to try and get the lid off. If you like, you can use 'crab boil' a mix of seasonings that varies depending on the regions, there is Old Bay which is from the Chesapeake Bay area, and Zatarains which is from New Orleans. Let them boil for about 5 minutes, then pull the basket out and dump it onto a table covered with a few layers of newspaper. Peel and eat.
        EVE Online: 99% of the time you sit around waiting for something to happen, but that 1% of action is what hooks people like crack, you don't get interviewed by the BBC for a WoW raid.

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