I freeze cooked and picked crab meat pieces to use for recipes. Before I had a vacuum sealer, I would put the cleaned meat in a small heavy zip lock, add a little water so it freezes into a solid block and the solid ice helps prevent freezer burn, squeeze out all air and a little of the water, seal and freeze. Now I just vacuum pack and freeze. Either way lasts me several months in the freezer.

The "recipe" that people seem to like best is to carefully thaw and drain some of those big crab chunks, add enough store-bought salsa so that it's "dippable" and serve with crackers. What more do you need?

I've thought about trying to ship some whole crab to my relatives. I've talked with seafood folks who recommend cooking and freezing whole crab on the theory that the guts help protect the meat. (When I'm cooking to pick or serve "whole" crab I clean it first because I'd just as soon not stew the meat in any toxins that can be concentrated in the internal organs). Careful... I tried vacuum packing one and the next thing I knew the vacuum bag crushed the body like an egg. The legs on a whole crab also often puncture any plastic used before freezing.