How to store crayfish at home for a long time

How to choose the right crayfish and eat it

How to choose live crayfish:

1. Live crayfish are brown or bluish-green in color. The color should be uniform throughout the carapace.
2. Their tail should be tucked tightly against the belly.
3. Alive, they behave actively, are in constant motion, move their mustaches and all limbs.
4. Do not take sluggish or immobile, as well as slow ones. However, if they are in cold water below 8 degrees, then they can be slow. In this case, it must be remembered that storage of live crustaceans in cold water should not exceed two days.
5. The claws and carapace should not be cracked, chipped or built up.
6. Purchased live crustaceans must be warmed to room temperature and washed for three minutes in slightly salted water. If some kind of cancer floats motionless on the surface, it must be thrown out.

Frozen crustaceans can be stored in your freezer for no more than three months.

How to choose the right crayfish already cooked:

• purchased items should be bright red;
• there should be no damage to the carapace.

Boiled crayfish in a chilled form in an airtight container should be stored for no more than four days.

It is cut by hand. First, you need to open the shell and gently suck its contents. Then the claws are removed and cut with hands. Small legs can be chewed just like that, but the neck must be freed from chitin and the black strip of intestines removed in the middle.

Rakov can be served on the table with cheese and hot toast, and washed down with white wine, beer or champagne. After cutting the crustaceans, it is better to wash your hands with water and the juice of freshly squeezed lemon.

Correct transportation of arthropods

Crayfish should only be boiled alive. The deceased individual begins to release toxins. Even after cooking, such meat is dangerous to eat. Therefore, the catch should be brought home as soon as possible. To prevent crustaceans from attacking each other, they need to be provided with food. Pea tops, chopped nettles, potato or carrot chunks will do. Arthropods in water, where they quickly lose weight, are recommended to give pieces of raw meat, worms or small fish. The water should be changed more often because it becomes contaminated with feed residues.

On a note!

When buying crayfish, first of all look at the abdomen. The tail should be snug against the body. Do not take individuals with growths and damage. An arthropod weighing about 100 g and 15-20 cm long is considered a delicacy.

One of the following methods is suitable for transporting live crayfish:

1. Plastic containers. River water is poured into deep dishes and crayfish are launched. Then the container is covered with a lid with holes for air circulation. In such conditions, crustaceans can stay for up to 4 hours.
2. Wooden box or box. There should be ventilation holes on top. Wet cloth or grass is placed on the bottom. Arthropods are folded into a box loosely, in one layer. Otherwise, weakened individuals will die. Transportation time is 2 hours. Crayfish should be periodically sprayed with a spray bottle.
3. Metal grid. It is convenient to keep crustaceans in the catch area. The net filled with arthropods is closed and immersed in a reservoir. In this way, they are stored for no more than 6 hours.
4. Canvas bag. It is abundantly sprayed with river water and filled with the catch. The bag must not be exposed to sunlight.
5. A thermos with water is a container in which the optimum temperature is maintained for a long time. You can buy it at a fishing store. A large number of live individuals are placed in a thermos. If the road is long, the water should be changed 2-3 times. The shelf life of arthropods is no more than 12 hours.
6. Crayfish bought at the market or in the store should be placed in a plastic bag filled with water.

How to store boiled crayfish

We do not recommend preparing crayfish in advance and in large quantities. Only fresh, they delight with taste, tenderness, resemble sea lobsters and are really considered a delicacy. Only sometimes the boiled product remains. Do not throw it away, you can leave it for a while.

At what temperature

The optimum storage temperature for boiled specimens is from 0 to +4 degrees. Air humidity does not matter, since the product will be packed in any case. It cannot be left open. Also, do not keep it in plastic, clean it in advance. Delicate cooked meat quickly deteriorates and loses its taste.

In the fridge or freezer

How many boiled crayfish can be stored in the refrigerator, in addition to the temperature, is influenced by the packaging. In containers, sealed containers, bags, cans, no more than a day. In broth for up to 4 days. Only the right preparation is required.

Step-by-step instruction:

1. Boil the crayfish, leave to cool in the broth.
2. If they lie on the table and remain, return to the pan, boil for five minutes. Cool down.
3. Cover, refrigerate.
4. Store up to 4 days, periodically check, sniff.
5. Bring to a boil before use, reduce heat, warm up.

Can be stored in the freezer. In this version, only boiled meat, peeled from the shell, and claws are used. They are folded into an airtight container, wrapped in a package on top, and retracted into the chamber. Store up to 30 days. For thawing, boiled crayfish meat is left in the refrigerator for 5-6 hours.

Thawed crayfish are tougher, drier, they are not used as a snack for beer, they can be added to salads, tartlets, and other dishes with sea and fish products.

Storage rules

It makes no sense to store crayfish that have already stood on the table for more than 6 hours. Eating is dangerous, after cooling, the development of microbes will not stop.

Other rules:

• you can not dry the shell either raw or boiled crayfish. Therefore, the product is periodically irrigated from a spray bottle. Manufacturers use an aqueous solution of lemon or citrus peels;
• if boiled crayfish becomes stained after cooking, this indicates spoilage, cannot be stored and consumed;

• so that the specific smell of mud does not spread through the refrigerator, we recommend storing boiled crayfish in a bowl with lemon peels or citrus slices, adding parsley and bay leaves will help;
• you cannot store crayfish next to dairy products, bread, they instantly absorb odors.

fish_rak

rakovarnya_hot.rak

rakovaya_tema

raki.30

ehalgreka_raki73

fish.market_

Keeping arthropods alive is a challenge

They need regular attention, water changes, feeding. There is a risk that the next day half will go to another world

It is necessary to check, remove the corpses.

Boiled crayfish cannot be stored for a long time either. In the most favorable scenario, the period is 4-5 days. But is it worth doing? The taste suffers even when kept in broth or brine. The consistency deteriorates when frozen, then thawed.

Previous
Meat, poultry, fish Shelf life of frozen or cooked chicken
Next
Meat, poultry, fish Shelf life and storage of meat in marinade

How to properly transport live crayfish?

If the transportation takes less than an hour, the crustaceans can be placed in an ordinary wet bag made of cloth that does not impede air circulation. When the road is not short, and the catch will have to spend several hours on the way, you can use a special traveling container for storing perishable food. It is called a cooler bag.

Those who have not yet had time to acquire this convenient thing can arrange crayfish in an ordinary box, having previously lined its bottom with wet nettles or at least a damp rag.In the walls of the box, there must certainly be holes for ventilation, otherwise the living creatures will suffocate.

The crustaceans should be laid in only one layer, otherwise the animals that have found themselves at the height will certainly injure those who were not lucky enough to fall under a hot claw. On the road, it will not hurt to spray the crayfish with cool water from time to time.

A little about water

Of course, the most suitable water for crayfish is river water. For the first time, you can bring it with you (if you caught the prey yourself). However, of course, no one will go to the reservoir for a shift. To make tap water easier for crayfish, it is better to collect and defend it, as is done for indoor plants.

You need to pour water into the container not cold, not lower than 17 degrees, but not higher than 23 - some varieties of arthropods have a negative attitude towards too warm water.

As for the rigidity, then you can not fight it. Some crayfish do not live in soft water, because there is not enough salt in it and the shell gradually collapses. But we don't breed them, we just keep them alive, so this can be neglected.

How to store crayfish in the freezer

Freezing is another way to store crayfish at home. After boiling, the finished crayfish can be washed, dried with napkins and frozen in a tightly closed bag. There is no benefit from such storage, the meat will become rubbery, and the shelf life of boiled crayfish is 1 month.

Many are interested in whether it is possible to store live crayfish in the freezer for a long time, for example, for the winter. Purely theoretically, this is possible, since crayfish in wildlife in winter can retain the ability to thaw if the river is frozen to the bottom. Live crayfish can be folded into a bag and frozen in a small amount of water at a temperature not exceeding -18 ° C. So they fall into suspended animation and can be stored for up to 3-4 months. Let them thaw out and those crayfish that have not crawled are already inanimate and they need to be thrown away, the rest can be boiled and eaten.

Other site materials

How much salmon is stored in the refrigerator

Have you bought a lot of salmon? Or was the fish left after the meal? Learn how to store it properly at home

How to store black caviar in the refrigerator

Yes, yes, it can also deteriorate in the refrigerator if you do not know about some of the nuances that we reveal in our article

How to keep fresh at home?

There are several ways to keep live crayfish at home, it is important to observe three parameters of the living conditions of crustaceans. Cancers must be provided:

• clean water;
• oxygen and ventilation;
• create the required ambient temperature.

Under these conditions, healthy, properly selected, not injured individuals can live at home for a long time.

Large container with clean water

They often use an aquarium. Compressor with pump and filter ensures the required oxygen level and water purity

It is important to pre-settle the water, a standard tap liquid with a high chlorine content will not work

Replacement of water or its partial replacement is necessary every second day. Crayfish are fed once a day, excess food is destructive, water begins to deteriorate in the aquarium, the amount of oxygen decreases. With a lack of nutrients, gourmet freshwater begins to eat each other. From time to time it is necessary to remove weakened individuals from the aquarium.

There is a well-known chef's technique: a week before catching crayfish, they are fed with buckwheat - it is believed that this is how the stomach of crustaceans is cleansed, the meat becomes tender, elastic and juicy. The ration of the captured individuals consists of carrots, fish and various herbs. If it is not possible to place the caught delicacy in the aquarium, use bathtubs or large basins. Do not use aluminum containers, delicious freshwater ones do not live long in such "rooms", their meat deteriorates, and the chemical composition becomes poorer.

Wet room

Crayfish can live for 48 hours without water.If you do not plan to store the crustaceans for longer, then you can apply the principle of the insulated container. A soft, well-moistened cloth is placed on the bottom of the selected container, on which a freshwater delicacy is laid out. Put another layer of wet cloth on top. The container is placed in a cool place without exposure to direct sunlight. The fabric is regularly moistened with a spray bottle, preventing it from drying out.

In fridge

If your refrigerator has a compartment with a temperature of 0 ... + 1 C to keep food fresh, you can use it. Fresh healthy individuals are washed with cold running water and laid out on the bottom of such a box, having previously covered with a moistened cloth.

The metabolic process in this case slows down, but additional nutrition is needed for cancers. In this state, they can live for about a week. Weakened individuals must be removed - the cancer immediately begins to "rot", such a product is easy to poison.

Imitation of the natural environment

The key to the success of long-term storage of live crayfish is the creation of conditions that resemble the natural habitat of crustaceans as much as possible. Pure water with a high oxygen content, optimal temperature are important parameters of artificial conditions.

Crayfish need to be provided with a sufficient amount of food, otherwise the animals will begin to attack each other. Dead individuals are promptly removed from the container.

Storage in water

Keeping crayfish in water is probably the best way to keep them alive for as long as possible. Since in aquariums in which a compressor and a purifier are provided, many successfully breed crayfish even for sale. But there will be more trouble.

The best option is a large aquarium with water filtration and a compressor. It is also desirable that greens are present and there are places in which the crayfish could take refuge. These are of course ideal conditions, and besides the fact that crayfish can live for a long time, they can still be grown a little.

River crustacean in the aquarium

Also, in order to prolong the life of crayfish, you can use the most ordinary bathroom (the water should be changed once a day, and the crayfish themselves must be fed). Ordinary earthworms and small fish are suitable for food. From vegetable feed, nettles, raw potatoes, pea stalks. If dead individuals are found, immediately remove them and discard them. Do not try to boil them in any way. In the bathroom, crayfish can live for about five days.

Pour water from the same reservoir in which the crayfish were caught in any dish, feed it in the same way as described in the previous version. However, crayfish cannot live in stagnant water for more than 2 days.

Important! Tap water tends to be chlorinated and therefore not suitable for crustaceans. You need a clean one from a river or a well, otherwise you won't be able to taste a tasty dish

Rules for the transportation of live crayfish

Only live healthy crustaceans are suitable for cooking, therefore, after catching them, they must be delivered to their destination and cooked as soon as possible.

Dead crayfish are not suitable for cooking and eating. After the death of arthropods, pathogenic microorganisms are activated, which quickly poison the meat and make it toxic. Eating such crayfish can lead to severe intoxication and even death.

To transport the catch, choose one of the available methods and a suitable container.

Plastic container with river water. Take a suitable deep dish and fill it with liquid. Place live crayfish inside and cover with perforated lid on top. Shelf life - up to 4 hours.

Cardboard, wood or plastic box. Perforate the container of your choice to ensure an adequate supply of oxygen. Place a wet rag, grass or seaweed on the bottom and place the crayfish. You can store crustaceans in this form for no more than 2 hours.

You can transport crayfish in a perforated plastic box. To ensure a sufficient level of moisture, place damp grass or a rag on the bottom of the container, and periodically spray the crustaceans from the top with a spray bottle.

Metal grid. Such a container is suitable for storing crayfish in the fishing area. Place the catch in a container and lower the net into the river. Keep crustaceans like this for up to 6 hours.

For transportation of crayfish, you can use a canvas bag, pre-soaked in river water

During transportation, it is extremely important to ensure that the products are protected from direct sunlight.

A thermos with river water is a special container that maintains the optimal temperature for a long time. You can buy it at a specialized fishing store. The shelf life of crayfish in this form is 10-12 hours. This method is suitable when you need to save a lot of products for sale. Remember, during long-term transportation, you need to change the water every 3-4 hours.

What to feed

To prevent crayfish from starting to eat each other during transportation, provide them with food. Suitable as food:

• pea stems and leaves (not peas);
• raw potatoes;
• chopped nettle (or other plant product).

If you have to keep crayfish in water, where they are actively "losing weight", you can give chopped raw meat or small fish. (In such a situation, the water will have to be changed more often than usual, as it is heavily contaminated by the feed.)

How to store live crayfish in the refrigerator?

One of the best solutions to keep live crayfish at home is the following option. To do this, you will need to sort out the purchased crayfish and check how well they move. If the cancer is actively crawling, then it is alive. After that, all live crayfish must be placed in a clean plastic bag and placed in the vegetable compartment. The most important thing in this case is not to close the bag, it must be open so that oxygen can flow to the cancers. Thus, you will be able to keep live crayfish for 4 days. Do not worry that they can crawl on the shelves of the refrigerator - this will not happen!

Before you start cooking crayfish, check the quality of the meat. It is possible that the animals kept in the refrigerator may have suffered a little. If you notice a low-quality product, then the best thing to do is get rid of it! After all, if there is a dead individual among the crayfish, then the rest can begin to feed on it (by their nature, these arthropods are scavengers). It is even more likely that a dead individual can get into the pan with the living, and grief in this case cannot be avoided. Be aware that if you get an unpleasant odor while storing crayfish in the refrigerator, it most likely means that one of the animals has died. He will need to be found and removed from the total mass of the remaining brothers.

You already know how to keep crayfish alive and how to properly prepare them for cooking. Now you can safely go buy them and go to the kitchen!

Enjoy your meal!

Storage methods for boiled crayfish

Freshly brewed crayfish is a tasty and healthy dish. It is often served as a snack. Avoid adding a lot of seasoning to avoid spoiling the aroma and flavor of the meat. However, if you did not manage to eat the entire portion at once, you can use simple storage methods:

• in the refrigerator, leaving the arthropods in the broth;
• in the freezer, using an airtight container as packaging.

Storage in broth

The crustaceans are boiled in a large saucepan, adding various spices to the brine: black peppercorns, dill, bay leaves. Live individuals are placed only in boiling water, then covered with a lid and the fire is reduced. In boiled crayfish, the color of the shell turns orange-red. After removing the pan from the heat, the cooked dish is allowed to brew for 10 minutes.The remaining crayfish, along with the broth, can be refrigerated, but first they must be cooled. At a temperature of + 5 ° C, such a product is stored for no more than 5 days. Before serving crayfish, be sure to warm it up.

On a note!

To make the arthropods tasty, the water must be well salted. For 1 liter of boiling water, you must put at least 1 tbsp. salt.

How to properly freeze crustaceans

For long-term storage, boiled arthropods can be placed in the freezer. They are placed in bags in small portions. To save space in the freezer, crayfish are stored disassembled: the necks and claws are folded separately. Backrests are usually discarded because there is little meat in them. The shelf life of frozen arthropods is 30 days. However, with such a long stay in the freezer, the crustacean meat loses its juiciness and aroma, becomes tough.

Boiled crayfish can be sent to storage in the freezer, after having cleaned them from shells. Prepared pieces of meat are placed in an airtight container. After freezing, it is stored for no more than 15 days. If the crustaceans are folded into a plastic container and filled with broth, the shelf life can be extended to 3 months. Arthropods are not thawed, but immediately put into hot water.

Crayfish quickly die in unsuitable conditions, and live individuals are required to prepare a healthy dish. Keeping them fresh for a long time is not difficult. It is enough to adhere to the rules of storage during transportation and at home. Leftover boiled crayfish can be refrigerated or frozen

It is important to adhere to the expiration dates. However, do not forget that crayfish meat is juicy and tender immediately after cooking.

How to store crayfish properly

According to GOST-y 7630-96, crayfish belong to invertebrates and the rules apply to their transportation and packaging, according to this document. They indicate that containers with crayfish must be marked as "Perishable cargo", and when transporting live products, temperature standards must be maintained not higher than + 3 ° C. That is why this product cannot be found in an ordinary supermarket, where shrimp, the closest relatives of crayfish, are always on sale. For the storage of river invertebrates, special conditions are required, since poisoning with this product is considered one of the most severe. That is why the terms and conditions of storage of crayfish must be observed with high precision. Crayfish is a tasty and healthy product, but very perishable, so they appear on sale only in live form.

To store freshly caught crayfish, conditions are needed under which they will be kept alive for no longer than 3 days at a temperature not lower than + 3 ° С and not higher than + 5 ° С.
To preserve boiled crayfish, storage conditions should provide for the possibility of placing the container with crayfish in a place where the temperature does not rise above + 5 ° C.

We will tell you more about how to store boiled crayfish and how to store fresh crayfish after catching.

Storing boiled crayfish

The easiest way to preserve boiled crawfish is to place them in the refrigerator in the saucepan in which they were boiled, along with the broth. So carcasses can lie for up to 5 days. Do not use aluminum containers.

Crayfish can be stored without broth. Take them out and place them in several pieces in food containers. In such conditions, they can also be kept for up to 5 days, but the meat will lose its juiciness.

Crayfish are also stored in the freezer. The shelf life of the carcasses will last up to 1–1.5 months. Divide them in portions into bags or containers and pour over the broth left over after cooking, then put them in the freezer.

You can also use vacuum bags. Place the crayfish in them, pump out the air and send them to the freezer. It is best if it has a dry and quick freeze function.

Crayfish meat is juicy and soft right after cooking. When stored in the refrigerator or freezer, it becomes dry and tough.

You can store boiled crayfish in the freezer unassembled.

To do this, separate the claws and neck. Usually the back is thrown away because it takes up a lot of space and there is little meat in it. Place the claws separately in a plastic bag without cleaning.

Remove the meat from the necks and put it in a bag too. This way you can freeze a lot of crayfish while saving space. Divide the peeled meat and claws into small portions if desired.

As you can see, keeping live crayfish at home is easy. Remember to avoid exposure to sunlight. Also, constantly monitor their behavior and immediately isolate from the general mass of the immobile.

The finished product can also be stored. Don't forget that crayfish meat is juicy and tender right after cooking. In the refrigerator, and especially in the freezer, it tastes rubbery.