Soft Shell Crabs

I stopped by my local fish market Friday to pick out something easy for dinner. They make allot of prepared meals which are very good. I did purchase a Paella which they make but he had some beautiful live soft shell crabs in the display case. Only my daughter Katie and I love these so I purchased just two for me to make as an appetizer for the both of us.

I used half of this coating mix mixed with plain flour(I usually use just plain flour but thought I would try something different).

Got them all coated up.

I fried them in half butter and half olive oil.



They came out just great! I remember when Katie was little and expressed curiosity about my eating this whole crab. I let her taste it( you would have thought I had learned from the first time I let her try lobster at age 3!) and she loved it. I love that my kids are willing to try new foods but something tells me I should have held off on the expensive items!

agnesrob Nice job on the softshells. It's great when the kids pick up on trying different foods early in life, it makes the roadfood stops a lot easier in the future................

Beautiful softshell!!!  Wish I had one now.

Egads! What did they do, clean them? Where are the eyes? The only way I ever ate soft shells was as a sandwich, deep fried with innards and eyes intact, served between slices of toast.
 
I always turned them around so I didn't have to look at the eyes as I ate.

Great shot and I use McCormick's batter every time i use a batter.  I use it with my chicken and fish and shrimp.  Outstanding.
 
Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN 

nice job on the crabs!

I have never had soft shell crab, but you made a believer in me!

They're so good, Ann! Give them a try!

I love them  and order them whenever they appear on  a menu.  My  grandchildren  described them  as tasting  sort  of  like  "crackly" and cannot really understand my love for them......however they do enjoy looking  at a soft shell crab sandwich when I order it  ...............they like  "all the things"  hanging out side of the bun!

I also order them whenever I see them if I think the restaurant knows what to do with them.  (Said the California girl)
 
Just don't see them often except in spider rolls.
 
 

Okay I have never had one of these either but I have always wondered and I guess from Michael Hoffman's comments about the eyes, you eat the whole thing. Is that correct?

Most people remove the "face" (eyes & mouth parts), the apron (the reproductive organs) and the lungs.  But otherwise, it's all good eatin'.

My fish guy actually asked me if I wanted them "cleaned". I always get them that way mostly because that's the way my Mom always got them.

jajarino68


Okay I have never had one of these either but I have always wondered and I guess from Michael Hoffman's comments about the eyes, you eat the whole thing. Is that correct?

Yes, that's correct. The legs get all nice and crispy! When I was a kid, a few years in a row we rented a house in the Summer in Wildwood, NJ. It was on a boat basin and the "back yard" was a dock. One year we caught 140 crabs! If you've ever "picked" that many hard shells, and believe me my Mother felt we should all "experience" it if we were going to enjoy all that crabmeat, you really appreciate being able to just eat the whole thing without all the trouble! I just now realized that banner year was 40 years ago! I'll never forget  all the little cuts on my fingers from those hard shells. What delicious sweet crabmeat, though!

MIchael, I remember a Bar near Boston Ave in BPT, they used to walk in with the softshell crabs, live and kicking. We would all yell out our order "I'll have two, three for me, and so on. The Fry cook tossed them in seasoned flour and into the fryer, on a bun with Tartar sauce. I don't remember any beheading or major surgery going on, it was all in the pool, here's looking at yah, eyes and all................After a few frosty mugs of beer, the eyes won't bother you............pnwc

When I owned my fish market (in CT), I would always ask the customers if they would like me to "clean" them (the crabs, not the customers). Most people would request that service. I also preferred them cleaned. At lunch time, I would cook up a few, simply dusted in flour seasoned with Old Bay, and sauteed so that the aroma would fill the small market. Did wonders for sales to those coming in at the noon hour, even though I didn't sell cooked food. I could use about half a dozen today. M-M-M-M.

Phishmonger


When I owned my fish market (in CT), I would always ask the customers if they would like me to "clean" them (the crabs, not the customers). Most people would request that service. I also preferred them cleaned. At lunch time, I would cook up a few, simply dusted in flour seasoned with Old Bay, and sauteed so that the aroma would fill the small market. Did wonders for sales to those coming in at the noon hour, even though I didn't sell cooked food. I could use about half a dozen today. M-M-M-M.

 
Thanks for the insight.  I was informed in Connecticut they were served whole with absolutely nothing removed, apron and lungs intact.  Guess that's not necessarily the case.  Or maybe only the restaurants serve them that way whereas the people purchasing them for home consumption prefer them cleaned.  That must be it.  As I said in my initial post, MOST people clean them.

I can't imagine that the sushi bars clean them prior to making their spider rolls.  Luckily only the legs stick out of the roll.
 
 

mar52


I can't imagine that the sushi bars clean them prior to making their spider rolls.

Why wouldn't they?  I've eaten many spider rolls and don't remember ever seeing a lung or apron in one.

Nice job on those soft-shells.  Wish I could get my hands on a couple dozen right now.

Phish, do you still have your market? My dad just bought a lakehouse in Thompson and I am going to help him with some renovations at the end of June. We love to cook and would like to know where to get some good seafood in the area.

the depot has them frozen. would you just thaw and cook them the same way? i've had them a few times but never cooked them myself. would love to make a batch.

I've never made soft shell crabs at home.  I don't think I even want to try.  But, whenever I go to the East coast I always get them if they're in season.  They're the best!

Once in a while I'd see them at a Saturday market, so fresh they were still kicking.  We clean them like Treetop describes, dip them in eggwash and Zatarain's Fish-Fri which is essentially very fine corn flour that we add salt, pepper, and  Creole seasoning to, then deep fry.  I recently saw them on a menu where they were coated in panko crumbs which would probably be good too.   

Great job on the softshells! I love making them when I can get them fresh in Dallas. So easy to make, too.

You should make shoft shell crab hand rolls!