Soft Shell Crab Basket Recipes

FRIED SOFT-SHELL CRAB

Steps:

• Clean each crab. Lift one pointed side of top shell and remove the gills by pulling them out. Put top shell back down and repeat on other side. On the bottom side remove tail flap by twisting and pulling off. Using a pair of scissors, remove the face by cutting behind the eyes. Rinse the crabs thoroughly with cold water. Dry on paper towels.
• Heat oil in a deep fryer to 365 degrees F (180 degrees F). In a shallow dish, whisk together the egg and milk using a fork. In a separate bowl, stir salt and pepper into the flour. Lightly salt the crab, then dip in the flour, dip in the egg, then in the flour again.
• Carefully place crabs into the deep-fryer. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, or until golden brown on one side. Carefully turn over, and cook until golden on the other side. Drain on paper towels. Serve as soon as they are cool enough to eat. You can eat the whole crab.

PAN-FRIED SOFT-SHELL CRABS

Steps:

• Whisk flour, salt, and pepper; place on a dinner plate. Dredge 2 soft-shell crabs in flour mixture, shaking off excess (make sure crabs are completely coated).
• Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a medium sauté pan over medium-high heat. The oil should be very hot but not smoking. Place flour-coated crabs, back side down, in sauté pan; reduce heat to medium if pan starts to smoke. Sauté crabs until golden and crisp, about 3 minutes (do not stand too close to pan; crabs tend to spatter during cooking). Turn crabs over, and cook 2 minutes more.
• Add 1 tablespoon butter and a large pinch of parsley to skillet. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon over crabs. Keep warm in a low oven. Repeat process until all the crabs are cooked.

LOW CARB SOFT SHELL CRAB

Steps:

• Heat a cast iron skillet with ½ cup lard or tallow to medium high heat. Pat the crab dry with paper towel. Place the powdered parmesan into a large shallow dish. Place the beaten eggs into another large shallow dish.
• Dip the crab into the eggs and tap, just so the crab has a light coating. Dip into the parmesan and use your hands to coat the crab well.
• Drop 3-4 crabs into the hot oil and cook for 2 minutes, flip and cook another 2 minutes or until crab is cooked through.
• Repeat with remaining crabs.
• While the crab cooks, prepare my Carolina BBQ sauce and serve with delicious crispy crab!
• Best served fresh.

SOFT SHELL CRAB SUSHI ROLL {GLUTEN-FREE, DAIRY-FREE}

Steps:

• Place ice water in large bowl. Gradually pour beaten egg yolk into the ice water, stirring with chopsticks. Add flour, cornstarch and baking powder all at once, lightly mixing with chopsticks until ingredients are loosely combined. Batter should be runny and lumpy. Place batter bowl into larger ice bath bowl to keep it cold while frying.
• Heat the oil (over medium/medium-high) in a small pot to 340 degrees F for seafood. (If you don't have a thermometer, test the oil by dropping a piece of batter into the hot oil - if it sinks and immediately rises to the top the oil is hot enough). There should be enough oil so that the soft shell crab is completely submerged.
• Dip soft shell crabs first in flour in batter, and drop into hot oil. Depending on how large your pot is fry 2-3 at a time 3-4 minutes per side, flipping them over in the middle. Remove from oil and drain on paper towels. Repeat for remaining soft shell crabs.
• To make the rolls, place seaweed sheet in front of you, and on the lower 1/3 of the sheet layer avocado, cucumber, alfalfa and soft shell crab cut in half. Start rolling away from you, making sure to tightly hold everything together. Cut into six pieces with a sharp knife. Repeat for remaining ingredients.
• (If you have a bamboo sushi rolling mat, cover it in plastic wrap and use that to make the rolls, placing the seaweed sheet on top, layering the ingredients and then rolling away from you, holding the roll tightly together).
• Serve with gluten free tamari, wasabi and spicy mayo (mixture of mayo and Sriracha)

SOFT-SHELL CRAB BASKET

Steps:

• Start by cleaning the soft-shell crabs, removing the gills and the skirt flap. Refrigerate until ready to cook. On the stove, over medium heat slowly bring the vegetable oil to 325 degrees. Then lower the heat to hold the temperature. While the oil is heating prepare the buttermilk by mixing the grated lemon zest and season with salt and pepper. Combine Flour with Old Bay Seasoning. The correct way to batter using flour is a method known as dry-wet-dry, so start by coating the crabs with the flour seasoned with Old Bay then dredging them into the buttermilk and then back into the flour. Carefully using tongs drop the crabs into the oil and fry until crisp, when golden brown, remove from oil and drain on a paper towel. Serve the crabs in a basket with french-fries, coleslaw, grilled corn, tartar sauce, and lemon. Another delicious serving suggestion is a simple soft-shell sandwich. To make the sandwich place the fried crab in between 2 slices of lightly toasted white bread with lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise;

SIMPLY SAUTéED SOFT-SHELL CRABS

Steps:

• In a wide, shallow bowl, combine the flour with 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper. Dredge the crabs to coat on both sides.
• Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet (preferably cast iron) over medium-high heat until shimmering hot. Add the butter and swirl the skillet to melt it. Add the crabs top side down and cook, shaking the pan once or twice to keep the crabs from sticking, until browned, about 3 minutes. The crabs may pop and splatter, so stand back or use a splatter guard. With tongs, flip the crabs and cook until red and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center reads about 145°F, 2 to 3 minutes more. Transfer the crabs to a large paper-towel-lined plate to drain briefly, then serve with the lemon wedges.

SOFT SHELL CRAB BASKET

Steps:

• Start by cleaning the soft-shell crabs, removing the gills and the skirt flap. Refrigerate until ready to cook. On the stove, over medium heat slowly bring the vegetable oil to 325 degrees. Then lower the heat to hold the temperature. While the oil is heating prepare the buttermilk by mixing in the grated lemon zest and season with salt and pepper. In a shallow pie tin combine the flour and the Old Bay seasoning. The correct way to batter using flour is a method known as dry-wet-dry, so start by coating the crabs with the seasoned flour then dredging them into the buttermilk and then back into the flour. Carefully using tongs drop the crabs into the oil and fry until crisp, when golden brown, remove from oil and drain on a paper towel. Serve the crabs in a basket with French fries, coleslaw, grilled corn, tartar sauce, and lemon. Another delicious serving method is to eat on white toasted bread with lettuce & tomato and mayonnaise.