crap. Dropped a crab. It's dead. Now what?

[DoubleJ]

nix my other thread.  I'm just going to boil them (if the power stays on anyway) and worry about picking them clean tomorrow.  Well, I dropped one from about chest high.  It's dead.  Water is about 15 minutes from boiling.  Can I still cook it?  Stupid question I know but, you all say not to cook the dead ones

[runamuk]

nix my other thread.  I'm just going to boil them (if the power stays on anyway) and worry about picking them clean tomorrow.  Well, I dropped one from about chest high.  It's dead.  Water is about 15 minutes from boiling.  Can I still cook it?  Stupid question I know but, you all say not to cook the dead ones

yes its fine boil them then put on ice or in the fridge

[jaymark6655]

Who says not to boil dead ones.  I sometime rip those suckers in half before boiling (depending on whos eating them), pretty sure that kills them.

[DoubleJ]

OK.  Thought I'd read that the dead ones were no good

[jaymark6655]

Must depend on how long its been dead, like not one that you just killed.  I also freeze mine if I am not cooking them right away.

[FC]

You don't want to eat the ones that die in your bucket as they become toxic but killing them quickly is fine, if I drop one like that I will yard the back shell off and clean the guts out. You MUST keep the back shell while in the field and it must be legal size of course but do not get caught without a legal back shell (in one piece) to match your dead crab.

[runamuk]

dont you need the belly in the field as well for purposes of sexing??

we always split them on an axe and rinsed out guts then tossed in boiling water and yeah if it is freshly killed no worries its the sitting dead that makes them bad....

[DoubleJ]

I dropped it.  It did a little spasm and died.  I put it back in the bucket.  It stayed there for about 15 minutes.  It's in the water with the rest of them now.  They all went in whole.  Am I going to die?  Should I make sure my wife eats that one?

[runamuk]

you wont die...lol

[Buckmark]

I dropped it.  It did a little spasm and died.  I put it back in the bucket.  It stayed there for about 15 minutes.  It's in the water with the rest of them now.  They all went in whole.  Am I going to die?  Should I make sure my wife eats that one?

Yes, you are going to die, might be tommorow, might be in 40 years but you will die......just not from the dropped crab....

[Kola16]

I dropped it.  It did a little spasm and died.  I put it back in the bucket.  It stayed there for about 15 minutes.  It's in the water with the rest of them now.  They all went in whole.  Am I going to die?  Should I make sure my wife eats that one?

Yes, you are going to die, might be tommorow, might be in 40 years but you will die......just not from the dropped crab....

  

[lokidog]

I use a cleat on the dock.  Hold the crab upside down and ram the cleat into its face, lift on the back legs, off pops the shell then peel the tail and pluck the gills.

I've discovered that crab cooked without the guts and shell keeps longer in the fridge than crab cooked in the shell.  I've waited to an hour after cleaning to cook, no problem, especially if kept cool.

[wraithen]

hes got red rocks. no worries about sexing them. even then you can tell by the shape of the body when you split the legs. the traditional method is just easier to use when you catch them. No worries about the one you killed while prepping them. i kill all mine after i clean them off while im waiting for the water to boil. im a sicko and enjoy the dramatic way they die when i stab them at the v. they spasm and grab the knife with their claw. except the one that didnt die and was waving a knife at me. almost had to get my gun!   

[pjb3]

I use a cleat on the dock.  Hold the crab upside down and ram the cleat into its face, lift on the back legs, off pops the shell then peel the tail and pluck the gills.

I've discovered that crab cooked without the guts and shell keeps longer in the fridge than crab cooked in the shell.  I've waited to an hour after cleaning to cook, no problem, especially if kept cool.

I ahve cooked them the next day after "cleaning" no issues. WOuld not want to wait longer than 24 hours though

[moocher97]

no you wont die but what i do is get a 5 gallon bucket with it with SEAWATER then put in the pot wait until it boils and i do it 2 ways 1 way is to put them in whole or i get the bucket and you smash them on the middle part of the crab then pull the legs out and leave the guts in a buckket or garbage bage  let themcook for 20 min then  put them in some container and rinse with cold water i heard it separates the meat from the shell or if you like the salty taste dont the cold wateer isnt that important so good luck 

[lokidog]

Moocher, you might try a little less time in the boil....  I boil my legs, no shell for about 7 minutes or less depending how many I put in the pot.  I start with it boiling.  I also only use four or so quarts of water.  If I had five gallons at boil, I would probably just have them in fo five minutes.    You might be losing some flavor with it cooking that long.