I bought some of these and upon defrosting them they started to leak a very dark liquid and lots of it. Smells fine, was frozen and then refridgerated, but upon detailing them and cutting the tails from the shell, the flesh has a pretty dark surface on it.
Easier to show I think so here you are:

I assume safe to eat, but can anyone confirm?

[www.screencast.com]

Cheers,

Networkn

I checked back in after looking at your post Networkn because I didn't know either. Did you go ahead and cook them. I felt it was going to be a bit of a "suck it and see" situation. I feel like if they smell good then they probably are good. I would be interested to know how they turned out. They have a very dark shell so maybe the flesh in its raw state is dark too. Sorry I could be more helpful.

I was too scared to offer advice as I get unnecessarily squeamish on things like this.
Love shellfish but dark flesh and liquid make me nervous as I often find with soft shell crab.
I would have thought that if the smell was fine that they should be Ok....

Only just saw this so I guess you've already had them - the dark skin is normal as is the dark liquid. When cooked, it turns orange.

Enjoy!

I don't know the answer as I have not been lucky enough to cook bugs. I do know that dark colouration is to be avoided with prawns and other crustacea. Here is a link to some general advice:

[www.fishfiles.com.au]

As to whether or not they smell stale, unless you are sure that you have a good sense of smell it might be worth asking someone else to smell them as well, as in your photo they look a bit old to me. People do vary in their perceptions of smells.

Hi.
Just an update, sorry I forgot about it:

I cooked them and they were delicious and no ill effects.

Unfortunately, they literally fell apart even with the most gentle cooking method I could find. I absolutely love the ones I have had in Australia, but they weren't like those. Never mind, they were still excellent.

Oh good to hear.
The freezing possibly didn't do them any favours with texture but at least they tasted Ok and you survived!

How did you cook them? I prefer to steam them and then add flavour in a sauce that is served alongside.