Processing Pasteurized Crab Meat at MBI Seafood

Today, we often find pasteurized crab meat at supermarkets. Actually, what is that? For your information, pasteurizing crab meat will help to make its shelf life longer. So, it remains good longer than the fresh & frozen crab. You need to know that pasteurization is a cooking process at a high temperature. Therefore, pasteurized crab is safe to eat.

The Meaning of Pasteurized Crab Meat

Many people still don’t know what it means. Pasteurization crab means that it uses high temperature to cook the crab meat. Cooking at a high temperature is helpful to kill bacteria in the meat. So, you can consume pasteurized crab safely. Besides that, it is also an edible product.

Eating pasteurized doesn’t require further cooking. Then, should you rinse pasteurized crab meat? You don’t need to do it. Averagely, pasteurized crab will last longer for months. Furthermore, you can pasteurize it yourself easily. After pasteurizing crab meat, you should pack it inside airtight cans. Alternatively, you may use a glass jar or plastic wrap.

In unopened conditions, pasteurized crab usually lasts 3 – 12 months. But, if you open it, it will last for 2 – 3 days only. So, you will have to use it immediately. You should understand it. Therefore, you can ensure that you eat it in a good condition.

The Process of Pasteurized Crab Meat

The process starts when the facilities receive it from the fishermen. To lock the freshness, you need to speed freeze it. After that, you should deliver it to the facilities. Then, for the crabs that will be processed immediately, you have to move it to the facility processing stage. Meanwhile, you must keep the others in the freezer.

You have to separate pasteurized crab meat from other seafood products. It aims to prevent cross contamination. Then, you need to sort it based on its qualities. If you see rotten or unhealthy crabs, you have to remove them from the process. Here, you need the quality inspection. Therefore, you only pack the best crab meat till the final process.

After you sort the crab meat based on the size, species, and quality, you should rinse it with cold water. Then, you must clean and gut out the crabs.

Step by Step in Pasteurizing Crab Meat:

1. After you sort out the crab meat, clean and gut it out! Then, you need to cut the crab meat into pieces.
2. Next, process it into the cooker room. Thus, you can consume it later without further cooking. Here, make sure that you set the cooking temperature properly!
3. After that, you should cool down the crabs in another room before you pasteurize it. You have to store the cooked crabs in cans. Then, you can move them to the pasteurized cooked room.
4. Once again, cool the canned pasteurized crab meat inside the air cooling room. Make sure that you close the cans with lids. Therefore, you can neutralize them from any contamination.
5. For the next step, store a few canned crab meat in some room for a few hours to see the qualities! If you find leaded canned crab meat, you must inspect them again.
6. If you don’t find any problem, you can directly pack and ship them to customers.

Why Should You Buy Pasteurized Crab Meat?

Comparing pasteurized crab meat vs fresh, there are some reasons why you should buy the pasteurized one:

1. It lasts longer than fresh crab for months.
2. It is ready to eat without further cooking. It means that you don’t need to prepare and clean it again.
3. It is more inexpensive than fresh crab. So, it is an economical alternative to crab meat.
4. You can find it year-round easily, anywhere, and anytime.
5. It is also versatile. Even more, you can cook or mix it with other ingredients to make healthy dishes.
6. You can rely on it if you want to make a quick dish.

How to Eat Pasteurized Crab Meat

First of all, you will have to prepare some ingredients. They include flour, fresh dill, ricotta, squash blossoms, lettuce leaves, minced chives, diced celery, mayonnaise, fresh herbs, cannelloni, crepes, cream sauce, oil, skillet, seasonings, breadcrumbs, eggs, salts, lime juice/lime wedges, and crackers/toast rounds.

Besides that, you will also need some materials. They are a bowl and a can opener. Then, to make pasteurized crab meat, you should follow these steps:

1.Open the can!

Drain the crab meat thoroughly. After that, empty it into the bowl. Then, pick carefully through the bowl. If you find shell fragments, just remove them! Now, you can use it!

2. Eat it!

You can eat the drained crab meat on small toast triangles or crackers. For your information, pasteurized crab only requires a squeeze of lime as well as a pinch of salt.

3. Make traditional crab cakes!

Now, crumble it into a bowl. Don’t forget to add eggs, breadcrumbers, and seasonings. After that, chill the mixture! Next, shape it into patties. You also have to fry in a hot pan until it turns golden.

4. Make a cream sauce!

Pasteurized crab meat is tastier with a cream sauce. So, you have to make it. Here, you can use a small amount of dry sherry. Then, you should stir the crab meat into the sauce. After that, use it to fill cannelloni or crepes. Don’t forget to spoon a little more sauce on the top. Besides that, you need to garnish with fresh herbs, too.

5. Stir seasonings and mayonnaise into the crab meat!

You can do this with diced celery & minced shives. Then, serve a scoop of crab salad on a leaf of lettuce with a garnish of fresh herbs. Alternatively, toast rounds for canapes or spoon it onto crackers!

6. Stuff blossoms!

Lastly, stuff blossoms with a mixture of fresh dill, ricotta, and pasteurized crab. Next, dredge them in flour. Then, pan-fry in a hot skillet till the cheese melts and the blossoms turn golden!

We usually grade and price pasteurized crab meat according to the size. Jumbo Chunk is the largest whereas Special is the smallest one. Hopefully, this article will be useful for any crab meat lover.

(kyk/mbi)