How to properly store live and boiled crayfish: rules and expiration dates

In this article, we will look at how to store live crayfish during transportation and at home.

Crayfish is a delicacy rich in protein, vitamins and minerals. Catching or purchasing crustaceans is not difficult, but storing them is quite difficult. Failure to comply with the rules leads to rapid spoilage of the product, loss of taste and beneficial qualities.

Crayfish can be stored live or boiled for several days (they cannot be stored for a long time)

Do not keep crayfish in tap water. It is rich in chlorine, heavy metal salts and other impurities, which cause animals to quickly die. The optimal environment for crustaceans is river, bottled or well water.

Rules for transporting live crayfish

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

Dead crayfish are not suitable for cooking or 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 your catch, choose one of the available methods and suitable containers.

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

Do not use aluminum containers for transporting and storing crayfish. Metal oxidation accelerates product deterioration.

Cardboard, wooden or plastic box . Perforate the selected container to ensure sufficient oxygen supply. Place a wet rag, grass or algae on the bottom and place the crayfish. Crustaceans can be stored in this form for no more than 2 hours.

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

Metal grid . This container is suitable for storing crayfish at the catch site. Place your catch in a container and lower the net into the river. Store the crustaceans in this form for up to 6 hours.

To transport crayfish, you can use a canvas bag , previously 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 purchase it at a specialized fishing store. The shelf life of crayfish in this form is 10-12 hours. This method is suitable if you need to save a large number of products for sale. Remember, during long-term transportation it is necessary to change the water every 3-4 hours.

What to feed

To prevent crayfish from eating each other during transportation, provide them with food. Suitable 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 this situation, the water will have to be changed more often than usual, since it will become heavily contaminated with food.)

Refrigerated option

And finally, the easiest way to save. There is a refrigerator in every home. All you need to do is empty the vegetable compartment. Before storing crayfish alive in the refrigerator, they should be rinsed well under a cool shower. Firstly, this will somewhat reduce their activity. Secondly, it will prepare for changes in living conditions. Thirdly, it will wash away dirt and debris brought from the river, which can introduce unnecessary aromas into the food storage area.

The box in which your loot will be stored is lined with a bag. It must be clean and not taken from other products. Crayfish are placed belly down; you can make several layers, the main thing is that the height of your “pyramid” does not exceed ten centimeters. There is no need to close the box, except that you can tighten it with gauze for the first time. Literally in an hour or two, the crayfish will perceive the surrounding situation as the approach of winter and will fall into a kind of hibernation. Their activity will be reduced to a minimum, but they will remain alive. At this point, you can remove the gauze and continue to store the potential beer snack in an open container.

Every day the arthropods will need to be taken out and given a cold shower. At the same time, overstocking the catch will give you the opportunity to remove weaker individuals that did not survive the “wintering” period. Unfortunately, this storage method does not last very long. 4-5 days, a week at most - this is all the time that is given to you to eat the catch.

Let's not argue, any of the methods describing how to keep crayfish alive is quite troublesome. However, such worries will allow you to indulge in delicious delicacies for several days. And if you choose the “water” method, you can save the delicacy until a distant but very important celebration for you. So your efforts will pay off with the delight of your friends who received a delicious snack out of season.

How to store live crayfish at home

You can store crayfish at home using wet and dry methods. They have their own characteristics, which we will discuss below.

Regardless of the chosen method, consider the general recommendations:

• Only living, active individuals are subject to storage. Crayfish with a straightened neck or that have floated up should be discarded;
• use ceramic or glass dishes;
• feed crustaceans to make them live longer.

"Wet" methods

You can preserve fresh crayfish at home longer in an aquarium equipped with a pump and compressor. (It is unlikely that it will be possible to raise small crustaceans in such conditions. Crayfish are far from peaceful creatures. They are omnivores, and they are also decent gluttons. In a confined space, small individuals in the presence of large ones will have no chance, since there is nowhere to escape. They will eat them for their sweet soul, and neither a compressor nor complementary foods will help.)

At home, you can save crayfish in an aquarium. To fill it, use river or well water (you can bottle it if you trust your supplier and don’t spare money for the crayfish)

You can organize storage of crayfish for 1-2 days in the bathroom . Fill the container with cold water and add the crustaceans there. Remember to change the liquid and feed the animals daily. If arthropods try to get out of the bathtub, it means that the conditions are not suitable for them (for example, there is not enough oxygen in the water).

Crayfish do not tolerate chlorinated water, that is, taken from the city water supply. They react very poorly to water with a low oxygen content, and even quickly die when overheated.

You can store crayfish in the bathroom. Free space and timely nutrition will allow you to preserve arthropods for up to 2 days

You can store crayfish in a large container . Simply fill an enamel or ceramic pan or basin with water (no chlorine) and place the animals in it. The shelf life of crayfish in confined spaces is 2-5 days.

"Dry" method

Fresh crayfish also keep well in dry conditions. To do this, prepare a wooden box covered with a damp cloth. Place the arthropods in it, cover the top with wet moss and close the lid. Place the box in a dark, dry place. Periodically spray crustaceans with cool water without chlorine (preferably river water) from a spray bottle.

Crayfish should be stored in this way for no more than 2 days at temperatures up to +3 ℃.

In a refrigerator

You can also preserve fresh arthropods in the refrigerator, for which you need to follow a number of simple steps:

1. Wash the crayfish under running water (preferably river).
2. Place them in a plastic container and cover with a damp cloth.
3. Place the container in the refrigerator on a shelf where the temperature is maintained at a constant temperature of 0℃.
4. Periodically check the condition of arthropods and remove dead specimens.

The exact shelf life of live crayfish at home depends on the initial state of the arthropods, the conditions and duration of transportation, as well as on the conditions created.

How to store boiled crayfish

To prepare arthropods, boil them in a large container with the addition of salt, spices and seasonings. Place the cooled product together with the broth or salted brine in the refrigerator.

How long can boiled crayfish be stored in the refrigerator? At a constant temperature of up to +5 ℃ they are stored for 3-5 days.

It is better to store boiled crayfish in the broth in which they were boiled

Rules for freezing crustaceans

If you don't cook the crayfish right away, you can freeze them. To do this, place large specimens in a large container and place them on the bottom shelf of the freezer. Fresh arthropods can be stored in the freezer for no more than 1 week.

Boiled crayfish can be stored in the freezer for up to 1 month, and if you place them in containers with broth, the shelf life increases to 90 days. Once defrosted, they must be eaten within 4 hours.

Storing in the freezer negatively affects the taste and texture of crayfish meat, so if possible, try to consume the delicacy immediately after cooking.

Some useful tips

1. When choosing crayfish to buy, you need to pay attention to their “neck” - actually, the abdomen, where the bulk of the meat is contained. Many fans mistakenly call this place the tail. The more a cancer bends its “neck” and presses it to the body, the healthier it is and is able to live longer in extreme conditions.
2. What if the treat is bought ready-made? In boiled crayfish, the “neck” will also be pressed against the body. Otherwise, the specimen was boiled already dead and is not suitable for food.
3. To enhance the taste and tenderness of meat, crustaceans are boiled in milk, beer, cucumber pickle or white wine with spices.
4. Serve the dish generously with broth or specially prepared sauce. In this case, the meat will be more tender and juicy.
5. Gourmets advise putting crayfish in milk for 30 minutes before cooking, then rinsing them again with water and cooking.
6. For the dish you need to choose large individuals. Their meat has the best taste characteristics.

By following the basic rules for storing and preparing crayfish, you can please your family and guests with an excellent dietary dish that is suitable for both everyday and holiday menus.

Conclusion

It makes sense to store live crayfish in water only during transportation to the pan (that is, 3-4 hours), and the water must be taken from the place of capture.

The storage option in a container (large saucepan or aquarium) is suitable if the water is from a well (without chlorine) - 2-5 days. The water will have to be changed very often so that it does not overheat and remains aerated. This matter is complex, inconvenient, unprofitable and the result is doubtful.

It’s easier to keep the crayfish “dry”, or even better – to cook it on the spot.

Useful properties and how storage depends on them

Crayfish meat is surprisingly tasty and has been used since ancient times. Today, for many, crayfish have become a profitable business. It is not surprising, because meat is filled to capacity not only with proteins, but also with calcium, magnesium, cobalt, phosphorus, potassium, vitamins C, D, E, K, group B, folic and organic acids. Iodine alone is 100 times more than beef recommended by nutritionists! Doctors suggest including crayfish in the diet to normalize the functioning of the liver, pancreas, thyroid gland and the immune system as a whole.

But there is no trace of harmful cholesterol, which is stuffed into many delicious foods, and the calorie content (only 76 kcal per 100 g) attracts women’s attention to the dietary product.

But nutritional value can play a cruel joke on inexperienced owners. A significant amount of sulfur is very useful, but it reacts actively with aluminum. Storage in containers made of alloys of this metal will lead to the destruction of most of the beneficial substances.