Terms and rules for storing crayfish


Is it possible to freeze live crayfish?

For long-term storage of crayfish, the best way is to freeze them. But at the same time, anyone who is interested in whether it is possible to freeze living crayfish should know that this cannot be done under any circumstances. Before freezing, heat treatment of animals is mandatory. Oxidative reactions in the body of crayfish begin immediately after they fall asleep. As a result, there is a high risk of poisoning; they cannot be eaten. Boiled crayfish can be frozen.

Despite the fact that the answer to the question whether it is possible to freeze living crayfish is negative, only active specimens are suitable for cooking. Their tail should be tucked to their belly and they should be moving. Animals will need to be washed in lightly salted water, after warming to room temperature. It is better not to eat crayfish that lie motionless or float in the water.

Before freezing, you need to cook crayfish according to certain rules. First you need to leave them in cold water for a couple of hours and then rinse. Prepared carcasses must be cleaned of the stomach and intestines. After the water in the pan boils, you will need to add dill, salt, peppercorns and the crayfish themselves. Cook over moderate heat for twenty minutes.

After the crayfish are ready, they can be sent to the freezer, having previously been placed in bags. A longer shelf life can be ensured by freezing them along with the resulting broth during cooking, placing everything, for example, in plastic containers. The shelf life of boiled frozen crayfish is about a month.

It should be taken into account that crayfish cannot be defrosted afterwards. They will need to be thrown frozen into boiling water for cooking. The dish is brought to full readiness in lightly salted water. Frozen animals lose their nutritional and taste qualities. It is much better to eat crayfish fresh, especially since now they are sold all year round.

If crayfish are chosen and cooked correctly, they will become a real delicacy. Their meat is not only tasty, but also extremely healthy. It contains a large amount of protein, as well as many vitamins and microelements. The large amount of iodine makes crayfish medicinal for people with thyroid problems. It is also recommended to consume the meat of these animals for the prevention and treatment of cholelithiasis and urolithiasis.

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Always fresh, always washed and only WILD crayfish in our online store.

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Crayfish on dill

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ATTENTION! To avoid food poisoning, only live crayfish should be cooked.

Ingredients:

  • Live crayfish
  • Coarse sea salt (2 tablespoons per 1 liter of water)
  • Dill seeds or dried dill in umbels
  • 10-15 black peppercorns
  • 10-15 allspice peas
  • A pinch of ground white pepper
  • 2-4 bay leaves

Dishes:

  • Pan (11-12 liters)
  • Skimmer
  • Dish (salad bowl)

Cooking time:

  • Total time: 55 minutes
  • Preparation: 15 minutes
  • Cooking and infusion: 40 minutes

The nutritional value:

  • Calories: 760 kcal. ,
  • Fat: 9 g.
  • Carbohydrates: 0 g.

Preparation procedure:

  • 1.
    Take a pan and fill it halfway with water. In an 11-12 liter pan you can cook 3 kg of crayfish at a time. In order to speed up the boiling process, we recommend using an electric kettle and boiling water in it.
  • 2.
    Add sea salt to the water at the rate of 2 tbsp. spoons per 1 liter of water, dill, pepper. In our store, dill is packaged in packs of 35 grams. One pack of seasoning is designed for 2 kg of crayfish. Place a pot of water on the stove and leave to boil. In the meantime, start preparing the crayfish yourself. If the crayfish are not purchased from our store, make sure they are clean and odorless. Otherwise, take a brush and wash each crayfish thoroughly under running water.
  • 3.
    As soon as the water boils, start throwing the crayfish into the boiling water. Before throwing the crayfish into the pan, do not be lazy, visually make sure that it is alive. Suitable for cooking only. You can help yourself with a slotted spoon, clearing space for the next crayfish.
  • 4.
    Throw the crayfish into the water and wait for it to boil again. As soon as the water boils, note the time and cook the crayfish for 10 minutes.
  • 5.
    So, 10 minutes have passed. Turn off the stove and leave the crayfish to steep in the dill broth for 15-30 minutes.
  • 6.
    Remove the crayfish from the water with a slotted spoon and place on a plate. Enjoy one of the best river delicacies. Crayfish are especially good hot, so remove them from the pan in portions.
  • PS
    You can cook another pot of crayfish in the remaining broth.

© 2013 "RAKOED.ru"

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Crayfish is an exquisite, tender and tasty dish.

As a rule, they are used as a snack for beer.

There are many recipes with boiled crayfish meat.

How to properly cook crayfish before freezing?

To cook crayfish properly before freezing, follow these steps:

  • First, place the crayfish in a container of cold water and leave for a couple of hours, then rinse.
  • Clean the prepared crayfish from the intestines and stomach.
  • Pour 2 liters of water into the pan. After boiling, add peppercorns, salt, dill and crayfish. Cook for 20 minutes over moderate heat.

In the video, Klavdiya Korneva explains how to cook crayfish:

Fragrant dill is the main ingredient of the spicy delicacy

In order to boil aromatic crustaceans with dill, you should fill a container with water and put it on fire. The water should be well salted. Since salt is poorly absorbed through the shell, there must be a lot of it. To fight off the smell of rot, dill should be added to the broth. You can throw in a bay leaf, black peppercorns, and lemon.

Proportion:

  • salt – 1 tablespoon/1 liter of water;
  • dill – 1 bunch/1 liter of water;
  • pepper and bay leaf to taste;
  • lemon - 1 piece per pan.

Washed crayfish can be dipped into the broth immediately after it boils. Then you need to wait until it boils again and from that moment on, time it for 20 minutes. Perhaps the most controversial issue is how much to cook crayfish. Some people say that you can take them out immediately after they turn red, but this is wrong. After boiling the future snack in boiling water for 20 minutes, it must be left in it until it becomes warm. This way everything will be better soaked and become spicy and juicy.

How to freeze boiled crayfish?

Place the boiled crayfish in bags and place in the freezer. And if you want to increase the shelf life, it is better to freeze the crayfish in plastic containers along with the broth in which they were boiled. Specimens frozen in this way can be stored for no more than three months.

Only live specimens are suitable for storage in the freezer; their behavior should be active, and their tail should be tucked to their abdomen. Brought or caught crayfish are warmed to room temperature and washed in salted water. If any specimens float up and lie motionless, it is better not to eat them.

Dishes and snacks with crayfish meat

Crayfish soup

To prepare the soup you will need the following ingredients:

  • 350 g of livestock;
  • carrot;
  • celery;
  • tomato paste;
  • shallot;
  • 250 ml each of broth and white wine;
  • 100 ml cream;
  • 20 ml cognac;
  • 40 g butter;
  • bread for toasting;
  • 10 ml olive oil;
  • spices - thyme, dill, bay leaf, parsley, white pepper, salt, sugar (to taste).

Manufacturing:

  1. Place a pan of water on the fire, add dill and salt.
  2. Rinse the product, remove the intestines. Place in a saucepan with spices. Cook for 5 minutes, then transfer the carcasses to a container with ice water.
  3. Cut washed and peeled vegetables (shallots, carrots, celery) into arbitrary pieces. Place on the bottom of a saucepan with olive oil. Add salt and thyme for flavor and simmer.
  4. Tear off the tails and place on the grill along with the shells. The rack should be placed on a baking sheet and placed in the oven. Bake at 200 degrees until the necks begin to turn white.
  5. Add tomato paste, sugar, salt to the vegetables in the saucepan and mix. Cut off the crusts of the bread for toast, cut them into large diamonds and place on a baking sheet. Place in the oven. Then grind the claws and shells in a mortar and fry in a frying pan.
  6. Add the chopped crayfish parts to the vegetables, stir, put on the fire, and bring to a boil. Open the lid, pour in a few ml of cognac, set it on fire. Shake the container so that the alcohol evaporates. After this, add wine and fish broth. Mix.
  7. Separate the crayfish meat and chop. Grind the contents of the saucepan using a blender. Rub the resulting mass through a sieve.
  8. Place the container on the fire, pour in the cream, stirring. Add pepper, salt, chopped butter.

When serving, first place the meat on the bottom of the plate, then pour in the soup. Sprinkle the finished dish with chopped herbs. Eaten with croutons.

Cream soup on video:

Snack

To prepare a tasty snack at home, you will need the following ingredients:

  • 10 crayfish;
  • 100 ml dry white wine;
  • a couple of oranges;
  • grapefruit;
  • a pair of garlic cloves;
  • a teaspoon of mustard seeds;
  • 2 tsp. butter;
  • a few tablespoons of vegetable oil;
  • 4 tbsp. l. cream;
  • bulb;
  • a bunch of lettuce leaves;
  • pepper, salt (to taste).

Manufacturing:

  1. First put the pan on the fire and bring to a boil. At this time, chop the onion.
  2. Grate the zest from washed and dried oranges and squeeze out the juice.
  3. Mix onion with orange zest.
  4. Salt boiling water and place the animals in the pan.
  5. Heat a frying pan, melt the butter. Then add the zest and onion mixture. Fry for 60 seconds, stirring constantly.
  6. Pour in the wine and turn the heat to low. The volume should decrease by 2 times.
  7. At this time you can start preparing the sauce. To do this, you need to chop the peeled garlic cloves, mix with pepper, mustard and salt.
  8. Pour in the vegetable oil, stirring the mixture with a whisk until smooth.
  9. Cool the crayfish carcasses and clean them.
  10. Pour cream into the mixture in a frying pan, heat until bubbles appear, but do not boil. Then immediately turn off the heat.
  11. Wash the lettuce leaves, tear them with your hands, pour mustard sauce over them and mix.
  12. Peel the fruit, divide into slices, remove the film.
  13. To serve, place the salad on a plate, then slices of citrus fruits, crayfish necks, and pour over the dressing. The dish is ready.

Crayfish pilaf

Components:

  • a quarter cup of rice;
  • 5 crayfish;
  • a heaping tablespoon of butter;
  • three branches of dill;
  • salt, nutmeg (to taste).
  1. Wash the crayfish carcasses thoroughly, boil in salted water with the addition of dill sprigs. Cool the prepared product and clean it. Dry the shells and grind them in a mortar. Then add the crushed crayfish shells to the heated vegetable oil in a frying pan. Fry until the oil turns red, stirring constantly. Then strain it through a small sieve.
  2. Fry the rice in the prepared oil until golden brown. Pour in ¾ cup of clean water, close the lid and cook over low heat. If necessary, water can be added. When ready, add nutmeg. Mix the crayfish tails with the rice. When serving, the dish can be sprinkled with caviar or herbs.

How to bring crayfish home alive

They are delivered home alive, but during the delivery process there is a possibility of death of weak specimens. Transportation is carried out in wooden containers with holes for air access. A plastic box or a basket made of wicker is also suitable.

Moistened moss, algae, and grass are placed on the bottom. Individuals are placed in one layer. They are also covered on top. For this, a pre-moistened thin cloth or another plant layer is used.

The container is wrapped in a tarpaulin and covered with pieces of ice. During transportation it is necessary to avoid sunlight. If the delicacy is in transit for less than 4 hours, transportation in a damp bag is allowed. In case of long-term transportation, it is recommended to use thermal containers.

Preserving live crayfish correctly

It is necessary to try to keep all specimens alive. If during the cooking process one fallen crayfish gets into the broth, you will have to throw away the entire dish.

We imitate natural habitat

A bathtub containing settled water from a well or natural reservoir is used as a storage container.

Another option is to use a fish tank. You need to take care of the absence of sunlight. The backlight should be turned off at night.

For normal life, it is important for crayfish to provide sufficient oxygen and nutrition. The water in the bath should be changed regularly. If its quality deteriorates, the animals will try to crawl out, injuring each other.

In their natural environment, the favorite food of these river inhabitants is fish. At home you can feed them lettuce, nettles, peas, small pieces of carrots, and potatoes.

How long can smoked fish be stored: 5 options on how to extend shelf life

Insufficient feeding will lead them to eat their relatives. Dead individuals must be immediately removed from the water. Such specimens can be recognized by their straightened tail. If the animal is healthy, its neck is curved towards its abdomen.

Storing crayfish in a humid environment

Although these are river inhabitants, they are able to survive outside the water. It is necessary to maintain sufficient humidity and low temperature conditions.

Use a box and cover the bottom with damp moss. The container with holes should be spacious enough. Place it in a cool, draft-free storage area.

It is necessary to periodically spray the crayfish with a spray bottle. Dehydration will cause the release of lactic acid, which will cause pain to the animals.

How to Preserve Crayfish Using the Refrigerator

At home, you can keep live crayfish in the refrigerator. The ideal place is the vegetable department. First, the crayfish should be watered and placed in a container.

Important! Check the condition of the crustaceans periodically, as some individuals may not be able to withstand crowded conditions.

Methods for storing boiled crayfish

The most delicious is the freshly prepared product. You can store it in broth or in the freezer.

In the broth

The broth in which the delicacy was cooked is brought to a boil. The crayfish are placed in brine and kept in it for no more than 10 minutes.

The liquid needs to be cooled, put the crayfish in it, and place it on the top shelf of the refrigerator. At low temperatures, the broth remains suitable for consumption for 5 days.

Advice! Do not use aluminum cookware for cooking. Cooking in a container made of this material will lead to oxidation of chitin and darkening of the specimens.

The product should be prepared in containers made of ceramic, enamel, or tempered glass. To preserve the delicacy, utensils made from the same materials should be used.

In the freezer

For long-term storage, a freezer is suitable. Plastic bags for freezing are used as containers, into which several copies are packed, pre-washed and dried with a paper napkin.

Before sending for freezing, the shells should be removed from all individuals. The shelf life will be 1 month. If you place crustaceans in plastic containers with the addition of broth, this will extend the shelf life of the product to 3 months. It should be taken into account that frozen crayfish meat is tougher.

Shelf life of meat, fish and poultry in the refrigerator according to SanPin

Some useful tips

Before starting cooking, it is recommended to place the product in milk for 30 minutes, then rinse under water.

To give the meat a more tender texture and piquancy, the following additives are used:

Instead of water when cooking, you can use vegetable broth. It will give the meat an aroma and a pleasant taste. Salt is added before cooking begins. To get rid of the smell of mud, you can add dill stems to the pan during the cooking process.

When serving, the dish can be generously poured with sauce. Crayfish should be stacked with the claws facing up to retain the juices in the meat.

How to choose crayfish

Choosing crayfish is not particularly difficult, but it is worth focusing on the following points:

  1. Habitat. When purchasing, it is important to check with the seller where the animals grew up. If it is an artificial reservoir or lake, it is better to refuse the purchase. The water in these places is not running and does not undergo filtration, so bacteria from the stagnant water of the reservoir accumulate in the cancer’s body. It is worth giving preference to individuals caught in the river.
  2. Animal activity. The best option is active and fast crawling crayfish that try to bite your finger; animals that fall asleep are completely unsuitable. Due to the fact that the basis of nutrition of these creatures is algae, after falling asleep in their stomachs, the active reproduction of putrefactive bacteria begins, which then enter the meat. Consumption of such a product is extremely dangerous to health. When choosing a live specimen, it is important to pay attention to the neck of the crustacean. The healthier the animal, the more the neck is pressed to the abdomen.
  3. Water purity. The transparency of the liquid indicates that the product was stored under proper conditions and the crayfish received sufficient oxygen. The water temperature should not be higher than 10˚C.
  4. Size . If the length of the individual is no more than 7 cm, then the animal probably grew along the shore. There is not much food in this area, so the product may be low in nutrients. The optimal length of an individual is 10-13 cm, and the weight can be 70-80 grams.
  5. Shell density. This indicator depends on the molting period. It occurs from late June to early August. At this time, it is better to forget about the delicacy. During this period, the shell is soft, its size does not change, but there is much less meat.

Important! If the product is purchased ready-made, then you need to look at the tail. If it is straightened, then the crayfish is cooked already dead and should not be consumed.

Shelf life of boiled crayfish

The product cooked in salted water will be stored in the refrigerator for about 2-4 days, in the freezer the shelf life will be 1 month, in a freezing container with broth the dish will last 3-4 months.

Terms and conditions for storing crayfish live, boiled, frozen

Boiled crayfish are not only a great snack for beer. This delicious product contains a large amount of vitamins (D, C, P, E), as well as iron, zinc, iodine, organic acids, proteins and carbohydrates. This product contains virtually no cholesterol and fat (no more than 1% of the total weight). And its calorie content is only 76 Kcal per 100 g. weight. This snack, unfortunately, has a very short shelf life. Those individuals that died before cooking begin to release toxins that cause severe poisoning in humans. Therefore, it is not recommended to cook dead animals. The question of how to store crayfish alive and boiled at home is relevant for those who prefer this snack to all others.

Crayfish snack cooked in beer

Crayfish boiled in beer are tasty and unusual. You should know that a filtered and pasteurized drink, sealed in bottles, will not produce the desired broth. It’s better to buy a real live fermentation drink, it’s good if it’s unfiltered. Of course, you won’t be able to cook a tasty dish in a pure beer drink, so it’s common to dilute it.

Proportion:

  • 2 liters of beer/1 liter of water;
  • salt – 1 tablespoon/1 liter of broth.

Throw the peeled crayfish into boiling water. We should not forget how long to cook the crayfish after boiling. Their cooking time should be at least 20 minutes. After this, they are left to cool in the pan and pick up spicy odors.

Here are the basic ways to prepare everyone's favorite delicacy. In addition to the methods listed above, you can experiment with wine and lemon juice. Many gourmets find the aroma of crayfish soup exquisite. They also make savory dishes with the addition of sour cream and kefir. Crayfish delicacies can be either stewed or fried.

With a little fiddling, you can get a great beer snack. In addition, you can simply enjoy the taste of extremely healthy meat if you know how to cook crayfish correctly. In other words, the ability to boil green arthropods is a very useful culinary skill.

Since I live not far from Desna and love to dive, when we are going to relax in nature, friends often ask me to catch crayfish

. Read separately about. And in this article I will try to answer some of your questions:

  • How to cook live crayfish?
  • How long does it take to cook crayfish?
  • How to cook crayfish for beer? (recipe)

How to choose

You need to buy only live individuals. Then there will be no doubt about their freshness. Already cooked ones can pose a danger, since they have a very short shelf life. And the date of preparation in this case is unknown. Therefore, it is better to refuse to buy a ready-made dish if the crayfish were not cooked in front of you.

Freshly cooked crayfish should have a bright red color and their tail should be curled. Straight limbs indicate that they were boiled already dead. This means that such a product can no longer be used.

The color of living crustaceans can be very different. It depends on their species and habitat. But the main thing is that they are painted evenly.

In clean water, the temperature of which is between +15°C and +25°C, healthy individuals actively move their limbs and move along the bottom of the container. The fastest ones crawl quickly with their tails tucked and can pinch painfully with their claws. Therefore, you need to pick them up carefully, by the back.

As the crayfish goes to sleep, its limbs relax and its tail straightens. An individual that has been kept in captivity for a long time becomes inactive and “lethargic.” You cannot buy such a product. With this behavior, bacteria are already multiplying in the crustaceans’ stomach, which will soon lead to its general rotting. Consuming such a product is very dangerous for human health.

It is important that the water in which the crayfish are located is clear. If it is changed frequently, it is more saturated with oxygen molecules, which allows arthropods to breathe normally.

The shelf life of boiled crayfish when refrigerated is a maximum of 4 days.

Recipe for canapés with crayfish

To prepare you will need:

  • 15 crayfish;
  • 1 loaf of white bread;
  • 5 egg whites;
  • 5 tomatoes;
  • mayonnaise - 2 tbsp, exactly the same amount of chopped parsley.

Prepare the dish according to this recipe:

  1. Bread needs to be toasted.
  2. The croutons will need to be greased with mayonnaise and minced meat placed on top.
  3. The minced meat is prepared as follows: the meat from the claws and necks of boiled crayfish is cut into cubes.
  4. Meanwhile, chop the tomatoes and let them drain. The product is also cut into cubes.
  5. The hard-boiled egg whites will need to be finely chopped.
  6. Afterwards, tomatoes, crayfish, and proteins are mixed, and mayonnaise is added.
  7. You need to put the mixture on the pre-prepared croutons.

This tasty dish can be decorated with herbs or crayfish tails cut in half. Even the most spoiled gourmets will definitely not refuse such a dish. In addition, it is not only tasty and satisfying, but also very healthy. Bon appetit!

The duration of cooking river inhabitants depends directly on their size. Cooking time can vary between 15-25 minutes. The water during cooking should be well salted. The degree of readiness can be determined by the color of the cooked product. Ready crayfish turn red.

Storing live crayfish at home

To ensure that live crayfish have the longest shelf life, you need to follow an important rule. Arthropods should not come into contact with aluminum in any way . Keeping and cooking them in aluminum containers is prohibited. This metal has a detrimental effect on crustaceans: in just 30 minutes, when interacting with it, living specimens will die, and boiled ones will deteriorate.

Arthropods that are kept in stainless steel or ceramic dishes feel normal. Although an enamel bucket can also be used if the enamel is intact, without chips or rusty spots.

Storing live crayfish in plastic containers is undesirable: it can give them a chemical smell.

It is better to store crayfish as follows:

  • in cool, dark and damp places (cellar, basement) in a large container with water;
  • on the refrigerator shelf, in a container of water or a damp cloth.

If the storage rules are followed, crustaceans will live 3–5 days in water. Without water in cool, damp places – up to 2 days.

Storage of live crayfish in the refrigerator should occur at a temperature not lower than 0°C.

Storage in water

For about 5 days, arthropods are able to survive in a large container with settled clean water, protected from the sun. The water needs to be changed at least once a day, or artificially saturated with oxygen.

To prevent stronger crayfish from eating the weaker ones, they need to be fed. For this purpose, feeding in the form of boiled potatoes, peas, fresh meat or fish is suitable. Feeding should occur once a day. At the same time, you need to control this process: make sure that each individual has access to food.

If crayfish are constantly trying to get out of the water, perhaps its quality does not suit them.

Dead individuals are immediately removed. Upon death, all muscles relax and the tail straightens. Therefore, dead individuals can be distinguished by their straightened tail.

How to store boiled crayfish

When the arthropods are boiled (at the same time they acquire a bright red color), they are allowed to cool and placed directly in the broth where they were boiled in the upper part of the refrigerator. The shelf life of boiled crayfish in the refrigerator (in broth) is 5 days.

  • Crayfish left on the table after guests leave can be stored for some time in the same broth in which they were cooked.
  • To do this, place them back into the broth and boil for 10 minutes over low heat.
  • Then cool again and place in the refrigerator.

You can store crayfish in the refrigerator at a temperature of +3°C -+5°C for no more than 5 days.

Another way to store boiled crayfish is to keep them frozen, previously peeled, in an airtight container. The shelf life of boiled, peeled crayfish in the freezer is 7-15 days.

Freezing

It is permissible to store boiled crayfish with shell frozen for no more than a month. They are frozen, placed in bags in small batches.

The shelf life of frozen boiled crayfish can be increased to 3 months when they are kept in the liquid in which they were cooked in a closed container.

But this storage method also has its costs. After defrosting, meat loses some of its moisture and flavor, and its structure is more like rubber.

Is it possible to freeze crayfish for storage?

Fans of this snack often wonder whether it is possible to freeze crayfish while still alive and then “revive” them after a few months.

Under natural conditions, crustaceans overwinter in suspended animation (freezing) and have the ability to maintain vital activity even in a river that is frozen to the very bottom. Therefore, theoretically, individuals can be in a freezer in a state of suspended animation.

  1. Before freezing, the temperature of the water in which the arthropods are kept is gradually reduced.
  2. During the day the temperature is reduced from above zero to zero.
  3. Then the crustaceans are transferred to a bag or other container and frozen along with water at a temperature of -18°C.
  4. At the same temperature, “live preparations” are stored for 3–4 months in the freezer.

Arthropods that have come to life after defrosting can be boiled and eaten. And the rest need to be thrown away. It should be noted that no more than 30% of individuals tolerate this storage method.

Dead arthropods should not be eaten!

Cancer delicacy boiled with kvass

This method is suitable for those who do not like the dill flavor. But there is one obligatory condition: the drink must be real. The bottled drink sold in stores is not suitable for preparing snacks. If it is not possible to find homemade kvass, you can make do with what is sold on tap in kvass stalls.

Proportion:

  • 1 liter of kvass/1 liter of water;
  • salt – 1 tablespoon/1 liter of broth;
  • bay leaf - 1-2 leaves per pan.

It is also recommended to boil green arthropods in this solution for at least 20 minutes. It is also better to remove them from the already cooled broth.

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