CLASSIC SOFT-SHELL CRABS

Classic Soft-Shell Crabs image

Soft-shell crab season starts the night of the first full moon in May and lasts through September. A soft-shell crab is a blue crab fortuitously interrupted (for us, not the crab) in the middle of a growth spurt. A blue crab emerges from the muddy waters to shed its outer covering (exoskeleton). A soft-shell crab is a blue crab before its new shell hardens. Fishermen use baskets to catch crabs known as "peelers," crabs that are beginning to split at the ends and are about to molt. They bring them onshore and hold them in water tanks until they complete the molting process. Once the peelers are in the tanks, they are watched closely to catch them within one hour of shedding. Softshell crabs that are newly shed and not pulled from the tanks are in danger, since they are immobile and basically dinner to other crabs in the water tank. Another reason to harvest them soon after shedding: if the new shell gets too hard, the fishermen have lost their harvest.

Yield serves 4 to 6

Number Of Ingredients 9

Ingredients

2 cups whole milk
Coarse salt and freshly ground white pepper
4 to 6 soft-shell crabs, cleaned and patted dry (see page 147)
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons canola oil, plus more if needed
2 tablespoons clarified butter (see below)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into bits
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Steps:

Place the milk in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add the crabs and let soak for 5 minutes. Place the flour in a shallow dish and season with salt and pepper.
Heat the oil and clarified butter in a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Lift the crabs out of the milk, one at a time, letting the excess drip off, and dredge in the seasoned flour.
Add the crabs, without crowding, to the skillet and saute, in batches, until golden, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer the crabs to a warm platter. Discard the oil from the skillet.
To make the sauce, return the skillet to the heat, add the butter pieces, and cook until golden brown. Add the lemon juice and parsley and remove from the heat. Season the sauce with salt and pepper and drizzle over the crabs.
Clarified butter has a higher smoke point than regular butter and can be used to cook at higher temperatures. (The smoke point is the temperature at which oil or fat starts to smoke and break down.) When clarified, butter loses about one fourth of its original volume. To clarify butter, cut unsalted butter into 1-inch pieces and melt over low heat in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. It will begin to sizzle as the water evaporates. When the butter stops sizzling, the water has evaporated. Remove the pan from the heat and let the butter stand for 2 to 3 minutes. Using a spoon, skim the froth off the top and discard. Slowly pour the molten butter into a measuring cup, leaving the milky solids in the bottom of the pan. Discard the milky solids. Pour the clarified butter into an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.