Soft Shell Crab With Preserved Lemon And Almonds Recipes

SOFT-SHELL CRAB WITH PRESERVED LEMON AND ALMONDS

Steps:

• Season the flour for dredging: mix together flour, cumin, coriander, cayenne, paprika and salt in a shallow bowl. Quickly dip both sides of the crabs in flour mixture and shake off excess.
• Put 4 tablespoons melted butter in a large, wide cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. When butter is hot, carefully put in the crabs, top side down. Cook for about 2 minutes per side, until well crisped and cooked through. Remove crabs to a warmed platter. Sprinkle lightly with salt.
• Add 4 more tablespoons melted butter to pan and add sliced almonds. Stir to coat and cook until lightly browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Add preserved lemon and cilantro and turn off heat.
• Spoon butter sauce over crabs, surround with lemon wedges and serve immediately.

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.

SOFT-SHELL CRABS WITH LIME SAUCE

Steps:

• Season the flour with 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Coat the crabs with flour and shake off excess. Heat butter and oil in a large skillet. When hot, add the crabs, shell side down first and saute for about 3 to 4 minutes a side (stand back a bit from skillet as crab will pop and splatter as you saute them.)
• Remove the crabs and keep them warm. Add lime zest, juice and water to the pan. Deglaze the pan by scraping up all the browned particles with a wooden spoon and incorporating them into the lime juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Boil the juices down until syrupy. Set crabs on warmed dinner plates and pour pan juices over them. For fancier occasions, garnish the plate with lemon rounds and sprinkle toasted almonds over the crabs.

SHEILA'S SAUTEED SOFT-SHELL CRABS WITH LEMON BUTTER SAUCE

Steps:

• In Ziploc bag, add flour and Old Bay seasoning. Seal and shake to mix.
• In bowl, combine eggs and milk.
• Dredge crabs in egg mixture, then add to seasoned flour and shake to coat. Shake off excess when removing from bag.
• Heat 3 T. oil in large saute pan or skillet over medium heat. Add 3 crabs in a single layer and cook for about 3 minutes, then turn and cook for another 3 minutes. The crabs should be nice and golden brown. (Be careful when cooking, because they sometimes will pop and/or spatter.) Remove crabs to serving dish.
• Heat remaining 3 T. oil in pan, then add the next 3 crabs and repeat cooking instructions.
• Do not clean out pan when crabs are removed, but add butter. Let the butter melt and turn a little brown. Add the capers and the wine. Cook for about 1 minute, then add the lemon juice and the parsley. Cook for about 2 more minutes, or until reduced by about a third. Pour sauce over the crabs and serve.

SOFT-SHELLED CRABS MEUNIèRE

Steps:

• Combine milk, salt, and pepper in a shallow dish and soak crabs 5 minutes. Lift 1 crab out of milk, letting excess drip off, and dredge in flour. Knock off excess flour and transfer to a tray. Repeat with remaining crabs, arranging them in 1 layer as coated.
• Heat clarified butter in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté crabs, upside down, 2 minutes. Turn over and sauté until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes more.
• Transfer crabs to a serving dish. Add butter pieces to skillet and cook until golden brown with a nutty aroma. Add lemon juice and parsley (mixture will bubble up) and remove from heat.
• Season sauce with salt and pepper and drizzle over crabs.

SOFT SHELL CRABS, LEMON BUTTER SAUCE

Steps:

• Preparing the Lemon Butter Sauce: Boil shallots, lemon juice and white wine together until reduced to half. Take pan off heat and whisk in a few bits of butter to emulsify the liquid a bit. Return pan to burner on the lowest heat, whisk in remaining butter a few bits at a time to create a smooth sauce.
• Sprinkle in the salt, whisk, check seasoning, adjust to taste. Strain sauce then evenly pour between individual plates topping with the cooked Soft Shell Crabs.
• Preparing the Soft Shell Crabs: In a bowl large enough to hold the crabs one at a time, whisk together the beaten eggs with the water.
• In another bowl, mix together the Wondra flour, Old Bay, and salt. One at a time, dip crab into egg mixture turning over and coating well before dredging with the flour mixture. Shake off any excess flour mixture from crabs then transfer to a baking dish, refrigerate for a half hour to set.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Frying the Soft Shell Crabs: Heat a large saute pan on medium heat, add in the butter swirling to cover the bottom of the pan. Once very hot, set the soft shell crabs into the pan top side down, cook for 3-4 minutes, turn crabs over and cook another 3 minutes. Place pan into oven and finish in the oven for another few minutes.
• Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve straight away.

SOFT-SHELL CRAB WITH LEMON BUTTER

Steps:

• Make the coating: in a shallow dish, stir the all the coating ingredients together.
• Remove the feeler underneath the crab shells on both sides; rinse the crab and dry carefully.
• In a big skillet over medium heat, melt the butter with the vegetable oil; add in shallots and saute until lightly softened, about 1 minute.
• Roll the crabs in the flour mixture and place them in the skillet; saute, turning once, for about 3 minutes on each side.
• When they have finished cooking and have turned pink, add the lemon juice, garlic, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste and cook another minute or two.
• Make sure the garlic is cooked but not browned; taste for seasoning.
• Transfer the crabs to individual plates and garnish with lemon and parsley; serve immediately.