How to Buy and Store Crabs

For those who don’t know, it’s quite easy to prepare crab. On almost every occasion, all you need to do is to prepare some seasoning, a burner, and a pot of water.  

For most homeowners, the most difficult part of cooking a crab is purchasing them. This is particularly true if it is your first time. It can be hard to know what to search for, particularly in live crabs.  

It’s also difficult to measure how much you should buy if you have never cooked them before. Luckily, we are here to help.  

Before you hire a crab delivery service, here are several things you should know: 

How Much Should You Purchase? 

If you are purchasing live crabs, it might be hard to know how much you will require to feed yourself and your family. Crabs typically contain 20-25% meat. This means that the total amount you will be able to eat in a single crab is 25% of how much they weigh.  

To be safe, you can purchase 3 pounds of crab per person. If the crabs available are small, a good general rule to follow is to get around 9-12 crabs per individual. You can serve a bit less if you’re planning to prepare another food.  

Things to Look for in a Crab 

When purchasing crabs, try to look for ones that are still alive. If you don’t like to handle live animals, you can buy meat that has already been processed and cooked.  

It does not matter what you choose. You should not purchase raw crab that is already dead. Their meat will become extremely mushy. The flavor is also different compared to a fresh one.  

If you are purchasing crab portions in the shell, the exposed meat should be white. If you want to purchase live crabs, search for animals that are moving around the tank. This shows the crab is still healthy. You need to make sure that the crab stays alive until you cook it.  

Do everything you can do to purchase what’s in the season if you are lucky enough to be located close to where crabs are farmed. This guarantees the best product quality. In addition to that, they tend to be cheaper. Thus, you can save money.  

How To Store Crabs 

If you purchase live crabs, you have to cook them as soon as you arrive at your house. Store the crabs in an open container lined with wet newspaper. Next, place the container inside a fridge. This guarantees the crab stays cool and moist. You can refrigerate the product if you’ve bought fresh crab meat. You can typically eat it within 2 days of purchasing it.  

Try to cook the crabs as soon as they arrive if you’ve chosen to order them online. Though almost every online seller does their best to pack and ship the crabs as soon as possible, it’s hard to know for sure. Because of this, it’s ideal to cook the crab as soon as you receive them from the delivery guy.