If you want a divine meal, cooking crabs is a great idea. But cooking them incorrectly can lead to them being all mushy and bad, so if you cooked some blue crabs and wondering why your crabs turned out mushy, look no further.
If your blue crabs are mushy, you may have cooked them too long, or added too much liquid, or if you’re using frozen crab, you did not thaw it correctly. Sometimes, if you’re not using fresh crab that was alive before cooking, the flesh degrades, causing it to be mushy.
This article explores why your blue crabs are soft and mushy, and how to boil or steam perfect crabs every time!
Reasons Why Your Blue Crabs Are Mushy
Blue crab provides great-tasting tender meat with a sweet undertone. It pairs well with many other flavors. They’re quite easy to cook, but sometimes they may come out mushy. These are the reasons why your blue crabs came out soft or mushy:
You Boiled Your Crab For Too Long
Your crab might come out mushy if you held it in a hot pot for too long to boil. They should be removed from the heat immediately after cooking to prevent the crab from getting mushy. This is why it’s better to steam crab than boil it since it can become waterlogged.
You Are Using Too Much Liquid
To make tasty blue crab, the crab should be steamed, not boiled. So, if your crab came out mushy, check whether you did not add too much liquid to the pot. If there’s too much liquid, you aren’t steaming your crab; you’re boiling it.
You Did Not Thaw Your Frozen Crab Correctly
Like fish, if you use frozen crab, they can quickly turn soft and mushy when you take them out of the freezer to defrost before cooking. The crab should thaw overnight in the refrigerator instead of on a countertop since this will cause bacteria growth. Additionally, ensure your crab meat is dry before cooking it.
Your Crab Was Not Alive Before Cooking
Usually, fresh crab offers the best taste. In some cases, if the crab is not alive before you cook it, its flesh can degrade quickly, making it mushy. You should also ensure that the crabs are not dead before cooking them.
How To Steam Live Blue Crabs Properly
Follow these steps from eHow to cook perfect blue crabs every single time. Never cook a dead crab; ensure that all your crabs are alive. Remember, the key is to steam the crabs, not boil them!
Keep your crabs out of boiling liquid while steaming. This is because crabs can sometimes become waterlogged when boiled. So, the best way to cook crab is to steam them.
First, you will need a steamer pot or any big pot with an insert to keep the crab out of the boiling water. Secondly, fill your pot with two inches of water, one cup of white vinegar one beer.
Before adding the crabs, ensure the mixture comes to a boil, and then add one crab at a time. Be wary of their claws; they can injure you badly! Add some herbs and seasoning over the crabs, and add the second layer of crabs if you have any.
Ensure that the pot in not completely full; otherwise, some crabs can escape. Lastly, put the lid on the pot and let the crabs steam for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, use a tong to lift the crabs out of the pot and serve!
How To Steam Frozen Blue Crab
While fresh crab has its perks, buying frozen crab is easier than using live ones. The latter defend themselves (obviously) and can injure you. Frozen crab is already cleaned and precooked. Therefore, they only need a bit of reheating before they’re ready to eat.
For this, you will need a steamer pot. If you don’t have one, be creative and insert a cooling rack or something similar in a big pot to keep your crab out of the water. Livestrong suggests balancing the rack on balls of aluminum foil.
Fill your pot with two to three inches of water and bring it to a boil. Place your crabs in the pot, ensuring that there’s enough space between them, and cover the pot with a lid. Leave it to steam for four to seven minutes.
To test whether it’s ready, check whether the thick leg of the crab is hot throughout when it is snapped off and cracked open. If your crabs are ready, take a tong and lift the crabs out, and put them on a tray. And that’s it. Dig in!
How To Boil Blue Crab Correctly
Boiling crab is the common way to cook it. Usually, steaming your crabs is the better option to avoid them coming out mushy. But you can boil them without them becoming waterlogged. Fill your pot with water and bring it to a boil. Add enough salt and seasoning. You can also add vinegar and beer to the water.
Then, put the crabs in the water and cook until the crabs start floating. Usually, this takes about ten to 15 minutes. The time depends on the size of the crabs, so keep an eye on the pot. After they’re done, take the crabs out with a tong and allow them to cool on a rack. When they’re good to handle, serve!
Conclusion
Blue crab can come out soft and mushy for a variety of reasons. They might become waterlogged and come out mushy if you boil your crab. This is why steaming your crab is the best option. Using too much liquid can also be a reason for mushy crabs. Sometimes, they may also come out mushy if you don’t thaw your frozen crab correctly.
So, make sure you thaw them in the refrigerator overnight. It’s quite easy to prepare delicious crabs; as long as you follow the steps above, you should have no problem!
References
- https://www.ehow.com/how_5059661_cook-crabs.html
- https://www.bluecrab.info/forum/index.php?topic=73612.0
- https://www.livestrong.com/article/467014-how-to-cook-whole-frozen-crab/
- https://www.thespruceeats.com/easy-ways-to-cook-crab-2216082
