Best Soft Shell Crabs With Sliced Sweet Onion Recipes

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PAN-FRIED SOFT-SHELL CRABS



Pan-Fried Soft-Shell Crabs image

Ask your fishmonger to clean soft-shell crabs for you. Crabs should be cooked no more than six hours after they are cleaned.

Provided by Martha Stewart

Categories     Food & Cooking     Ingredients     Seafood Recipes

Number Of Ingredients 8

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons coarse salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
12 soft-shell crabs, cleaned
12 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup loosely packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
3 lemons, cut in half

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



Soft-Shell Crabs with Lime Sauce image

Provided by Food Network

Categories     appetizer

Yield 4 servings

Number Of Ingredients 10

1/2 cup all purpose flour
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 medium-sized soft-shell crabs, cleaned
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon grated lime zest
Juice of 2 limes
1/2 cup water
Optional: 1/2 cup roasted sliced almonds
Lemon wedges or rounds for garnish

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.

CRISPY SOFT SHELL CRABS



Crispy Soft Shell Crabs image

Soft shell crab season is short and sweet. When it's here, you want to make the most of it. Highlighting the flavor of the crab is what matters, and I employ a secret weapon to help me do just that. Wondra flour is a superfinely milled ("instant") flour that creates a very thin, almost stealthlike coating around the crabs. What you taste is crisp soft shell crab unadulterated by any thick batter. Simply hit some nutty browned butter with tart lemon juice and anise-flavored dill (an herb that I think is too often forgotten) for an easy and delicious sauce. Soft shell crabs make their appearance in summer, so it's only fitting to pair them with some of summer's best: fresh lima beans, beefsteak tomatoes (I like local Jersey tomatoes, myself), and of course, corn. This succotash recipe should be considered a guide; try it with whichever fresh vegetables catch your eye at the market.

Yield serves 4

Number Of Ingredients 21

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 small Spanish onion, finely diced
1 small red bell pepper, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
1 cup drained canned black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained again
1 cup fresh or frozen lima beans, blanched (see page 249)
1 ripe beefsteak tomato, halved, seeded, and diced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
2 green onions, green and white parts, thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
3/4 cup Wondra flour
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 medium soft shell crabs, cleaned
8 tablespoons canola oil
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
Juice of 1 lemon
3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

Steps:

  • To make the succotash, combine the butter and oil in a large sauté pan over high heat and cook until the butter is melted and begins to sizzle. Add the onion and red pepper and cook until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Stir in the corn and cook for 2 minutes.
  • Add the black-eyed peas, lima beans, and tomato, season with salt and pepper, and cook until the tomato softens slightly and the peas and beans are heated through, about 4 minutes.
  • Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon zest, green onions, and parsley. Keep warm.
  • To cook the soft shell crabs, put the flour in a large shallow bowl and season with salt and pepper. Pat the crabs dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper on both sides.
  • Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large sauté pan over high heat until the oil begins to shimmer. Dredge 2 of the crabs on both sides in the flour and tap off the excess. Place the crabs in the pan, upside down, and cook on each side until golden brown and just cooked through, about 7 minutes total. Wipe the pan out with paper towels and repeat with the remaining oil and crabs. Place 2 crabs on each of 4 plates and tent loosely to keep warm.
  • Wipe out the pan with paper towels and return to the stove over medium heat. Add the butter and cook until it begins to turn a medium brown color, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat, immediately add the lemon zest and juice and dill, and season with salt and pepper.
  • Pour the sauce over the soft shell crabs and serve the succotash on the side.

SOFT SHELL CRAB SANDWICHES WITH SPICY TARTAR SAUCE (PO BOY)



Soft Shell Crab Sandwiches With Spicy Tartar Sauce (Po Boy) image

Soft-shell crabs cook in minutes, are easier to eat than hard-shell crabs and their sweet, briny flavor and crunchy-soft juicy texture can't be beat. Soft-shells are usually eaten whole and they make for a killer sandwich. From Fine Cooking.

Provided by gailanng

Categories     One Dish Meal

Time 30m

Yield 4 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 18

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon minced red onion
1 tablespoon finely chopped dill pickle
1 tablespoon rinsed and finely chopped capers
1 tablespoon thinly sliced fresh chives or 1 tablespoon green onion
1 1/2 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce, such as Tabasco
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup medium-grind yellow cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
4 jumbo soft-shell crabs, cleaned (dont' forget to remove the gills)
2 tablespoons canola oil or 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
8 slices French baguettes, toasted (or French Bread slices cut aboute 5-inches long each)
4 large leaves lettuce
4 -8 slices ripe tomatoes

Steps:

  • Make the Tartar Sauce: In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, onion, pickle, capers with spicy tartar sauce chives, Old Bay, lemon juice, and hot pepper sauce. Set aside.
  • To Cook the Crabs: In a wide, shallow bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, salt and 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 to the skillet and swirl the pan to melt it. Add the crabs top side down and cook, shaking the pan once or twice, until crisp and browned, about 3 minutes. The crabs may pop and splatter, so be careful.
  • Flip the crabs and cook until crisp and just cooked through (an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center of the crab should read 145°F), about 3 minutes more. Transfer the crabs to a large paper-towel-lined plate.
  • To Assemble the Sandwiches: Spread the tartar sauce on the 8 slices of toast. Top 4 of the toast slices, sauce side up, with a piece of lettuce and 1 or 2 slices of tomato. Put one crab on each sandwich, top with the remaining toast, sauce side down, and serve.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 706.4, Fat 23.2, SaturatedFat 4.6, Cholesterol 31.6, Sodium 1342, Carbohydrate 102.8, Fiber 9, Sugar 8.8, Protein 25.8

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