Crayfish can be found in any freshwater reservoirs worldwide. They are close relatives of shrimp and lobster and, like their relatives, are distinguished by sweet and juicy meat. Despite the fact that some specimens can reach huge sizes, as a rule, these are small inhabitants of water bodies.
The most famous and common way of eating is to cook them and eat them completely fresh. However, frozen or canned crayfish can also be prepared. This will help to preserve tender meat for a long time.
What will be needed for canning
Homemade Crayfish Recipe
Wash live crayfish well in cold water. Bring the water in a large saucepan to a boil. Add vinegar and coarse salt in the following proportion - one glass of salt and vinegar to 4.5 liters of water. Put the crayfish in boiling water, wait for the water to boil again. This usually takes less than 10 minutes, depending on the size of your pan and the number of crayfish.
Remove the pan from the stove, as soon as the water boils, drain it. Once the crayfish have cooled enough to be picked up, separate the heads and tails. Remove the shell from the tails and put the meat in a bowl or colander.
Prepare a saline solution in a separate pan using 2 to 3 cups of coarse salt for every 4.5 liters of water. Fold the cleaned crayfish meat in sterilized jars and fill them with boiling saline. Leave 1 centimeter of space at the top of each can. Cover the cans with metal lids. Canned cancers are almost ready, it remains to sterilize them.
Sterilization
Pour 10 cm of water into a large pot or boil and place the wire rack on the bottom. Place cans with crayfish meat on the grate, and the pan itself on the stove burner turned on. Cover. Continue to boil until a large amount of steam begins to stand out from the pan, then reduce the heat. Canned crayfish should be heat treated for 60-90 minutes.
Then remove the pan from the stove. Cool it and remove the canned food, tighten the lids, let the jars cool in a draft until they reach room temperature.
How to store
Check how well the cans are sealed by pressing the center of each lid with your finger. If the lid sways or bends, the jar is not closed properly. Canned crayfish should be stored in the refrigerator and be eaten after opening the can for three days, you can no longer store open canned food. Properly sealed cans, in turn, can be stored in a cool, dark place for one year.
This is far from the only way to make crayfish. In addition, you can cook their marinated meat using any recipe for marinating shrimp. However, you should take into account the different size of seafood and the specifics of their preparation. In particular, when using a shrimp recipe for crayfish, you should increase the cooking time at each stage by 50 percent.