Left over Crab Legs

by Monique
(Houston)

I cooked crab legs last night. I didn't store them. I left them in the pot with the boil, So Can I eat them or toss them?

I would suggest not eating them. As with any foods (especially seafoods) it is not good to leave leftovers out overnight. Even though you left them in the crab boil, I personally would not feel "good" about the safety of eating these. Next time be sure to take a few moments to put them into the fridge or freezer then you can be assured to have some very good left overs. Hate to lose good crab but...better safe than sorry!

Refrigerating Left Over Steamed Crabs

by Bobby
(Baltimore, MD)

After you eat your steamed blue crabs and there are left over crabs, how long is safe to keep them refrigerated before they are no longer safe to eat?

After steaming Blue Crabs and keeping left-overs in the refrigerator, we would only recommend 3 or 4 days max. for storing them. Just a gut feeling on our end that seafood doesn't keep as well and as long as other left-overs, such as turkey or chicken or ground beef.
Good rule of thumb is to eat 'em up! "before" they do go bad.
Smell them, first, if waiting longer than 3 days, and discern any bad discoloration before reheating them.
We, personally, don't give them a chance around here to spoil and waste...one to two days here, so, basically it's "you're call" on left-over steamed crabs, just don't wait too long!

Refrigerating Crab?

by Brent
(Cali)

Is it okay to refrigerate for 24 hours before boiling dungeness crab?

ONLY if they were cleaned "live"! Putting live crab in the refrigerator or on ice will kill them and therefore render their meat inedible. If you need to keep them for that long before boiling, I would recommend doing one of two things: (1)Clean them live. This way you can keep them refrigerated for a few days or frozen for weeks! (2)Invest into an aerator so that you can keep a good oxygen supply getting in the crab's water. This can keep them alive for a few days before boiling. Enjoy!

Storing cooked crabs outside overnight

We didn't have enough room in the refrigerator to store our cooked dungeness crabs so we stored in on the balcony. It's cold here, I'd say about 49 degrees last night. Would you say its safe to eat them?

Normally a safely cold refrigerator is set at just above freezing temp. Our's is at 36 degrees F. 49 just doesn't seem like a safe temp. Were they fresh or frozen solid when you put them outside? If frozen (ice-frozen) and still frozen in morning, I would say go ahead. However, if they were not in a frozen state and closer to fresh, I wouldn't take any chances at only 49 degrees.

How long do crabs stay?

by Matt
(West Chester)

I plan on serving crabs on Sunday, if I get them on Thursday, will they still be good?

If you boil them up Thursday and freeze them. Then on Sunday you will just need to quickly re-boil them or steam them 'till hot and they should be wonderful! If you're just serving legs, I would recommend cleaning them before freezing. Then, you only have to steam them (legs/knuckles) which is quicker and not have to mess with the cleaning before serving time.....Just heat 'em and eat 'em....ENJOY!

Crab Thaw

by Jim
(Colorado)

I have two whole frozen Dungeness Crabs that I want to have today. Can I put them in a ziplock bag and thaw in them cold water? If so, how long?

Yes, Jim, you can thaw Dungeness Crabs by putting them in ziplock bags and thawing them in cold water in the sink. It will speed up the crabs for thawing in cold water and could take 2 to 3 hours. Thawing them out of cold water will take a couple more hours for the frozen whole crabs to thaw.
Enjoy your Dungies!

How long can you keep fried soft shell crab in the refrigerator?

by Vic
(Arlington, Tx)

How long can you keep fried soft shell crab in the refrigerator? I fried them two days ago and put the left overs in the refrigerator. Can we still eat them?

Fried soft-shell crab? Sounds GOOD!... Since I have not have the pleasure of ENJOY!-ing this dish I can't say for sure first-hand. However, I would think that should be dealt with in the same manner as all seafood leftovers. Provided they were properly stored, two days time should be fine for re-heating and re-eating. I probably wouldn't push any farther than that though. ENJOY!

How Long Keep Crab In Frig

by Val
(North Carolina)

How long can I keep crab once it is out of the freezer and in the fridge?

We wouldn't feel comfortable keeping thawed out crab in the refrigerator before eating them, safely, any longer than 3-4 days. 5 days at the very most if they are kept stored in a drawer area, where they aren't subject to the door being opened and closed much.

Crabs Longevity in Refrigerator

by Marc
(New Orleans, LA)

How long do crab legs, bought from Winn-Dixie, last in the refrigerator?

How long crab legs last in the refrigerator depends on whether they are frozen or not. If they were frozen when you bought them, it'll take a day or so to thaw out. Then, to ensure freshness for consumption, will give you another 3-5 days in very cold frig. before they get "chancy to eat".
If the crab legs you bought were not on ice, then, we would recommend only keeping them in the refrigerator for only 3-4 days.
You aren't clear on who "Winn Dixie" is, and it's not clear if these crabs have been processed, (cleaned and boiled, packaged and frozen...?)

Thawed Crab

Can you eat crab that was pre-cooked, frozen and then left out to thaw overnight?

We don't see why you couldn't eat thawed crab! We, as well as thousands I'm sure, eat thawed out crab all the time! Just don't leave them hanging around at room temperature for too long before you steam them up and eat 'em!
And, the best rule of thumb when thawing out crabs is that when you do thaw them out overnight, you should thaw them out in the frigerator to keep them plenty chilled before you cook them. Also, they will stay "good to eat" much longer as they stay chilled after the thawing process. Enjoy those crabs!

Left Over Crab

by Ed
(Minneapolis, MN)

How long can I have crab in the fridge for left overs?

Crab, as with any type of seafood, probably shouldn't be kept for more than about two days. Better safe than sorry. Besides, with yummy crab around, why would you wait to eat it?

Left Over King Crab

by Laura
(Fairbanks)

How long to store already cooked king crab in fridge with shell on or off?

Only for a few (3) days max. for safest consumption for King Crab or any other kinds of left over crab and seafood, with or without shells.