Frozen Peeler

[markt1225]

Bought some frozen peeler for first time. Does anyone recommend how best to use it I.e. do you just take main shell off before presenting on hook?? Probs silly question but just getting back into it!!

[BestNest]

Shell should of been removed along with lungs ect before freezing mate, so you should be good to go...

[markt1225]

used online supplier for first time and it still in shell - do you think they've ripped me off??

[broon shoe]

I have had them like that but it was just the shell I think its just to hold them together m8 just pull the shell off and your ready to go .If your using it in a cocktail what I do if there a good size is cut them in half so they go abit further

[markt1225]

great cheers mate

[safc]

Does it still have legs and under shell ETC on?

It might have been blast frozen

Just use it with lug, mussel and a full peeled crab on a pennel if fishing the sea and wrap the mussel and crab on with thread. Will catch just about anything out there.

[Whippyzzippy]

Quite a few suppliers vac pack and blast freeze in the shell

[Whippyzzippy]

Defrost them just before use and remove the legs and as much shell and lungs as possible. Cut in half and whip on 1 or 2 halves depending on the size of the crab and target species etc.

[markt1225]

Yes lads had confirmation that they are blast frozen!

[markgg]

does it matter that you remove the lungs from frozen peeler???

[g-force]

does it matter that you remove the lungs from frozen peeler???

If you're doing them at home & you want to keep them for any period of time, then yes - otherwise the bacteria cause them to rot & blacken over time. If I have some crab that start to jump out of their shells a few days before I need them, then I just wrap them tightly in tin-foil and wap them in the freezer as they are, shell & all. When defrosted they're just like a fresh crab - but they peel a lot easier! If you've got access to blast freezers and a vacuum packer then there's no need to do anything to them and they can be frozen whole, in shell. The only problem is that once you open the vacuum pack you'll need to use all the crab in the pack, as crab doesn't re-freeze well (unlike mussel for example, which often seems to get better with age).

Gary

[markgg]

So as a rule any crab frozen whole with lungs shouldn't be left to long frozen, just do it for a short term preservation. I prefer to shell any left over crab from a session then freeze but odd time when prssed ive just bunged in chest freezer whole!!

[g-force]

The stuff that's blast frozen & vac-packed will keep ok long term, but once the vacuum seal is broken & the air gets to them they can start to go bad. So if you open a vac-pack and take a few out & leave the rest in the freezer, I'd say they'd be best used in a couple of weeks if they're whole. That's why most of the vac-packs hold usually no more than 5 or 6 crab. I've used crab that I've prepared myself that is three years old and it's been absolutely fine (individually peeled, de-lunged & wrapped).

Gary