Preserving crabs

Specifically, freezing them.  I finally have a line on a chest freezer, and so will finally have room for stuff.

So, should I boil the crabs, clean, chill, vacuum pack and then freeze?  Will this work?

The only time I tried to freeze them, I cleaned and boiled them, vacum sealed the picked meat and put in the freezer. NOTE: MEAT DIDN'T KEEP WELL AT ALL. My
suggestion is to eat as much as possible in a short span

Freeze the meat in whole milk. The flavor will not be affected. the milk has the same properties as the crab. Brine will dry it out. Doing it this way it can last 2-3 months.  happy eating and picking. doug

I've frozen crab meat in milk and also in the crab "Juice".  Think of the "juice" just like clam juice.  That liquid that comes out of the crab when you pop the shell after cooking?  the liquid at the bottom of the bowl after picking?  All of that is the juice.  The crab frozen in crab juice is great, though I don't eat it straight, I make crab bisque or crab cakes from it.  Still, better than milk to me.

cook the crab, back the crab (if you have not yet), butt leave it in the shell and freeze it that way. The shell is a very good protection against freezer burn and "dry out". Not as good as fresh, butt the Wife will just warm it in the waver and eat it plain with butter (she loves her crab!).
 As stated above, we usually eat as much as we can fresh, and use the frozen for things like crab puff's, quiche's and crab cakes.
 My next frozen crab dish is going to be deviled eggs with crab added.
 

pressure cook it with a bit of butter and garlic. If you add halibut the halibut takes on the texture and taste of the crab.Thus more crab cant tell the difference. Use little jars. 20 mins at 15 psi pressure.

I usually vac-pak and freeze the picked meat.  Tastes fine to me, though I usually only eat it plain when it's fresh. If you have a pressure cooker you can try that.  I've attached the USDA canning guide for meat and seafood.  11psi for 70-80 min.

I cook em (Boiled), split em (Take off the back and split them in half) and clean em (Get all the gills and guts out) Then vacuum pack and freeze.

When you're ready to eat, just steam them. 

I haven't had any issues.  The taste and texture are still great.

-Spot-