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Old 07-23-2009, 06:48 AM   #1
steelcity
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Lobster saving

Whats the best way to freeze bugs? Can I just take the tail and vacuum save it? Thanks.
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Old 07-23-2009, 07:16 AM   #2
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Re: Lobster saving

I put 2 - 3 tails in a vacuum bag and line the bottom with folded paper towel. This keeps the spines from poking a hole in the bag. Thaw in a bowl of cold water and they taste like you just caught them.

I have 3 tails left from March that look good as new. I plan to eat them this weekend to celebrate mini-season.
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Old 07-23-2009, 07:41 AM   #3
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Re: Lobster saving

It also helps a lot if, before bagging, you lay the tail open in your hand with the ventral (bottom) side up. Use a hammer and gently smash each of the spines which protrude from the underside of the tail at each segment. Once these spines are broken off (or smashed down a little), rinse the fragment from the tail with a splash of water and place in the bag. This prevents puncture of the bag.
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Old 07-23-2009, 08:38 AM   #4
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Re: Lobster saving

I have been freezing lobster tails in a chest freezer for 30 years. All I do is put 5 tails in a ziplock and freeze them. I use them up within a years time. Never had a problem with one. I would never put anything that you want to keep for any amount of time in a freezer that has an automatic defrost. An automatic defrost will heat up somewhat during defrost cycle and cut down on the lifespan of any frozen food.
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Old 07-23-2009, 09:08 AM   #5
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Re: Lobster saving

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Originally Posted by steelcity View Post
Whats the best way to freeze bugs? Can I just take the tail and vacuum save it? Thanks.
I have saved them for over a year and a half in a ziplock bag with water (to form a big ice cube) and they are still incredible when they thaw. Forget the vacuum bag machine for lobster, you don't need it as long as you are freezing the meat still in the shell.
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Old 07-23-2009, 09:09 AM   #6
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Re: Lobster saving

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Originally Posted by jfjf View Post
It also helps a lot if, before bagging, you lay the tail open in your hand with the ventral (bottom) side up. Use a hammer and gently smash each of the spines which protrude from the underside of the tail at each segment. Once these spines are broken off (or smashed down a little), rinse the fragment from the tail with a splash of water and place in the bag. This prevents puncture of the bag.
I agree, except I use the cheapo medical scissors/cutters/snips to just cut off the tips. Only takes a second and I never have a bag punctured.
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Old 07-23-2009, 09:14 AM   #7
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Re: Lobster saving

I agree with inlet, freeze them like a big ass ice cube, make sure to take all of the air out of the ziplock before you seal it.
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Old 07-23-2009, 09:33 AM   #8
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Re: Lobster saving

I'm gonna call BS on all of your techniques! The only way I can be convinced is if each of you will send me a bag full of frozen tails so I can make up my own mind!
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Old 07-23-2009, 09:40 AM   #9
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Re: Lobster saving

thanks all.
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Old 07-23-2009, 10:34 AM   #10
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Re: Lobster saving

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I'm gonna call BS on all of your techniques! The only way I can be convinced is if each of you will send me a bag full of frozen tails so I can make up my own mind!
One package in the mail as we speak. Oh was I suppose to add ice.
Please send pictures of the opening of the package. Disreguard the green stuff running out of box
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Old 07-23-2009, 10:35 AM   #11
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Re: Lobster saving

how long can a wrung tail stay in the fridge? 3-4 days?
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Old 07-23-2009, 10:39 AM   #12
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Re: Lobster saving

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One package in the mail as we speak. Oh was I suppose to add ice.
Please send pictures of the opening of the package. Disreguard the green stuff running out of box
YUCK!!! Atleast they should be tender.....
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Old 07-23-2009, 12:05 PM   #13
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Re: Lobster saving

The easiest is freezing each tail in a paper or plastic cup.
Wring tail, then devein. Fast rinse with salt water, then add the tail wrung end first into a suitably sized paper cup with just enough salt water in it to cover the first joint in the tail. Freeze hard with the cup standing up, then they can be stored in any orientation.

The same method works for antenna knuckles. One older diver I know claims they are still good after over 2 years in a deep freeze (he lost a few in his freezer between defrosts.)

The all time best method of freezing bugs I've ever done is live. Stack the bugs like cord wood in a heavy walled Styrofoam ice chest. Cover the bugs with liquid nitrogen until it stops boiling. Remember to wear welding gloves when handling the bugs within a couple days of the freezing event even after the LN2 evaporates. They'll hold in a 2" wall chest for about a week without further refrigeration. Even the leg meat is still good when they're cooked.
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Old 07-23-2009, 12:24 PM   #14
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Re: Lobster saving

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The all time best method of freezing bugs I've ever done is live. Stack the bugs like cord wood in a heavy walled Styrofoam ice chest. Cover the bugs with liquid nitrogen until it stops boiling. Remember to wear welding gloves when handling the bugs within a couple days of the freezing event even after the LN2 evaporates. They'll hold in a 2" wall chest for about a week without further refrigeration. Even the leg meat is still good when they're cooked.
What a simple and cheap solution to such a simple problem. Tell us Fred, did you experiment with carapace superconductivity or vein/poop shoot brittleness when you were playing with the LN2? I gotta try it, Wed afternoon after cleaning up from Mini-season I'll be sure to have Praxair at my house with their refrigerated liquid nitrogen truck and $200 worth of LN2...
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Old 07-23-2009, 02:13 PM   #15
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Re: Lobster saving

i learned this trick at the blue wild...take a big bowl full of ice and keep adding ice to it until the mix will not melt the ice anymore...then submerge the tails in the mix and frotective ice shell will form around the tail. this insures there is no air intrusion

I like JFJF's suggestion, never heard that, but i have always just stuck a cardboard piece in the bag by the spines to prevent any bag punctures
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