How much and how to store crayfish at home?

A delicacy rich in microelements - crayfish, is not found on the table of Russians every day. In order for a gourmet dish to retain a set of useful properties, it is important to properly prepare and organize the storage system. How to store live, boiled crayfish at home, which container to choose and what to look for? Consider the intricacies and nuances of managing the inhabitants of freshwater reservoirs.

Choice criteria

If you caught crayfish yourself or bought them in a store, remember that not all individuals are suitable for preservation and consumption. Crustaceans that meet certain criteria are suitable for storage:

1. It is better to choose live fresh water, it is obvious that such a product is fresher.
2. Pay attention to the color of crayfish, it should be even, without contrasting spots and stripes.
3. The tail of delicious sweet water should be bent, at a water temperature of + 18 ... + 22 Soft water should be in active motion.
4. Water containing live treats should be clean and clear.
5. Bodies must be free of damage, buildup, chips.
6. Knock on the shell - if the sound resonates, the back does not bend, then the cancer is high-grade and fleshy, if the sound is dull, the back is not elastic, bends, then there is very little of delicious meat in such an individual.
7. Crayfish are clean freshwater, they should not have an unpleasant rotting smell.

Note: The physiological parameters of a delicious crayfish are 15-20 centimeters in length and weigh 100 grams.

When choosing cooked delicacies, you should pay attention to the color, it should be uniform and bright red, while remembering that such people can be stored in airtight packaging for up to 5 days.

It is believed that the most delicious meat is the meat of November individuals; freshwater delicacies during this period accumulate fat for the winter.

Transportation

In order to deliver delicacies in conditions suitable for long-term storage, it is important to properly organize transport. The necessary conditions for the preservation of the life of crayfish are the presence of a sufficient amount of oxygen in the water and the maintenance of temperature. Before spawning for storage and transport, crayfish are carefully calibrated and selected, weak and sick individuals are removed.

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Box

A convenient container for transportation is a standard box, it can be wooden or plastic. It is important to arrange the required number of ventilation holes inside the selected container. Freshwater delights are quickly suffocated by a lack of oxygen. The height of the box should be at least 20 centimeters, the width can be any, the container should be spacious. It is not recommended to stack fresh water in several rows on top of each other.

Wet bag

If the transport time does not exceed 4-5 hours, a damp canvas bag can be used as a container. At the same time, during transportation, periodically moisten the bag with water from a spray bottle, avoid direct sunlight on the container.

Large water bag

When using a bag or a plastic bag, the transport time is reduced to two hours, otherwise the bags of fresh water are unlikely to arrive alive. The bag must be open during the whole transport, avoid overheating the water.

Thermal containers

The common and modern way of transporting shellfish. These containers are made of polystyrene with special ventilation holes in the lid. A moistened natural cloth is laid on the bottom, on which the crayfish are laid out in one layer and covered with another layer of moist cloth. The thermal container should be placed in a cool place, away from direct sunlight and other heating elements.

How to keep cool at home?

There are several ways to keep crayfish alive at home, it is important to observe three parameters of the living conditions of crustaceans. Cancers must be provided:

• clean water;
• oxygen and ventilation;
• create the required room temperature.

Under these conditions, healthy, well-selected and uninjured individuals can live in their homes for a long time.

Large container with clean water

They often use an aquarium. The compressor with pump and filter ensures the required level of oxygen and the purity of the water. It is important to pre-adjust the water, standard tap liquid with high chlorine content will not work.

Replacement of water or its partial replacement is necessary every other day. Crayfish are fed once a day, excess food is destructive, the water begins to deteriorate in the aquarium, and the amount of oxygen decreases.With a lack of nutrients, the delicious sweet water begins to eat itself. From time to time it is necessary to remove weakened individuals from the aquarium.

There is a well-known chef's technique: a week before catching crayfish, they are fed buckwheat - it is believed that this is how the stomach of shellfish is cleansed, the meat becomes tender, elastic and juicy. The ration of captured individuals consists of carrots, fish and various herbs. If it is not possible to place the caught treat in the aquarium, use tubs or large basins. Do not use aluminum containers, delicious fresh water containers do not live long in such "rooms", their meat deteriorates and the chemical composition becomes poor.

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Bathroom

Crayfish can live 48 hours without water. If you do not plan to keep the shellfish longer, then you can apply the principle of the insulated container. A soft, well-moistened cloth is placed on the bottom of the selected container, on which a sweet water treat is laid out. Put another layer of damp cloth on top. The container is placed in a cool place without direct sunlight. The fabric is regularly moistened with a spray bottle, preventing it from drying out.

In the fridge

If your refrigerator has a compartment with a temperature of 0 ... + 1 To maintain the freshness of food, you can use it. Fresh and healthy individuals are washed under cold running water and laid out at the bottom of such a box, previously covered with a moistened cloth.

The metabolic process slows down in this case, but additional nutrition is needed for cancers. In this state, they can live for about a week.Weakened individuals must be removed - the cancer immediately begins to "rot", such a product is easy to poison.

Imitation of the natural environment

The key to successful long-term storage of live crayfish is creating conditions that resemble the natural habitat of the crustaceans as closely as possible. Pure water with a high oxygen content, optimum temperature are important parameters of artificial conditions.

Crayfish must be given a sufficient amount of food, otherwise the animals will begin to attack each other. Dead individuals are quickly removed from the container.

How to properly store boiled crayfish?

Cooked crayfish can be kept for a maximum of 5 days. There are many recipes, it is important to preserve the level of trace elements required and the quality of the gourmet meat when harvesting the crayfish.

in broth

As a rule, boiled crayfish of bright red color are used for food immediately and for decoration of the table, but if the fresh-water delicious ones have not been eaten during the feast, they can be returned to the broth , bringing the liquid to a boil. The fragrant broth is left to cool and placed in the refrigerator. The shelf life of boiled crayfish at temperatures up to +4 C is about three days.

In the freezer

With strong freezing for the winter after boiling, crayfish can be stored in the freezer without losing taste for up to 15 days. It is recommended to pre-clean the crayfish from the shell and entrails and place the selected flesh in airtight containers.

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The shelf life in the freezer can be increased by placing the cleaned meat in a container with broth, in which delicious freshwater fish were boiled. The container must be tightly closed, repeated freezing is inadmissible.

How to freeze

A popular way to harvest crayfish is to freeze them alive. By nature, the body of Cancer is designed in such a way that an individual can fall into a state of suspended animation for the winter, when the river freezes to the bottom. In the spring, Cancer moves away from hibernation and pursues a healthy life.

Considering this factor, it is important to understand that the freezing of fresh water should not be fast, so the water temperature when harvesting gradually decreases. Crayfish are frozen with water at temperatures down to -20 C. Freezer shelf life is 4 months.

After thawing, the crayfish come to life, they must be cooked in broth according to the chosen recipe. People who do not wake up are thrown away, they cannot be eaten - it is dangerous to health, the flesh of such crayfish is not tasty.

Tips & Tricks

Crawfish delights are a popular gourmet food. But everyone can afford to taste the most valuable meat, for this it is necessary to take into account the following recommendations:

• keep crayfish alive;
• respect the recipe and storage conditions;
• sampling and calibration of crustaceans;
• the best time to catch crayfish is November, the meat during this period is tasty and tender, the crayfish have grown up for the winter;
• when storing crayfish, try to create conditions similar to those natural for shellfish;
• do not eat dead and sick animals;
• stop feeding crayfish a day before the planned cooking;
• before placing in a broth, the crayfish are washed in running cold water;
• you can freeze live crayfish for the winter, while freezing is carried out gradually, without sudden temperature jumps;
• refreezing thawed crayfish is unacceptable;
• long-term storage of crayfish spoils the taste of the most valuable meat, the freezing period should not exceed 6 months.

Subject to these rules, the delicacy dish will delight diners, the extraordinary taste and aroma of fresh cooked crayfish will not leave indifferent even gourmets.

It is important to remember that caught crayfish should be eaten quickly, even in artificial conditions, sweet water delicacies do not last long, such soft waters are sensitive to water purity and conditions of detention.