As I mentioned in a prior post this week, we have had quite a bit of Dungeness crab in our kitchen this summer. I've used it in everything from Lime, Ginger, and Crab lettuce cups to Fresh Corn and Crab Chowder.
Last weekend, however, I was too pressed with deadlines to pick all ofthe meat on Sunday evening.Time was limited! Hence, I did some poking around on the internet and decided to take another route entirely. I decided to vacuum pack the cleaned, halved, and cooked crabs. I had read that you can freeze the crab legs and then use them within a couple months after they have been frozen. This sounded like a great way to stretch my bounty and it also appealed to me because I would then be able to add the beautiful meat and claws to soups such as cioppinos! Afterall, who doesn't love a warm seafood soup ona cold rainy day?
So, I extracted my FoodSaver from the cupboard and went to work. I started by snapping the pointy tips off eachcrab leg in order to prevent the legs from poking holes through the FoodSaverbags.(You can see one of the thin sharp tips in the photo.)My first few sealing attempts didn't work that great because I loaded the bags with four halves or two whole crabs. Basically, I determined that the abundance of the irregularly shaped crab prevented the bag from sealing properly. I then simply took two crab halves and positioned them to look like a whole crab. I loaded this into the bag and sealed. It worked great! I now have about eight "whole crabs" vacuum packed and frozen. The vacuum packing really extracted the air and will prevent freezer burn, so I'm excited to see how the operation works out.
Are you a FoodSaver fan? Even if you don't have Dungeness crab that needs to be frozen, you can use these amazing machines for hundreds of other seasonal items. For additional inspiration, see their website.
Photo by Melissa A. Trainer
--Melissa A. Trainer
{ 1 comments... read them below or add one }
This vacuum sealer from crazysales works most effectively investment you can create to save money on food. Purchase larger quantities or items at discount and divide into meal sizes and vacuum/freeze and seal. I had owned 5 vacuum sealers during the last 20 years and will never be without one. Now we have purchased a completely new one on crazysalesand passed the older one on to family. Another thing I am going to caution yourself on.... Meats with fat attached ( porkchops and steaks, etc.) will experience. a "rancid" taste to your fats in the event you don't employ them before per annum approximately. You can also use this to re-seal a bag of chips. Alternatively, a cereal bag after opening them. Works perfect, just don't have the sealer go the complete time.
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