Recipe Almond Meal Battered Soft Shelled Crabs

Mountain Cat

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Got Crabs? Almond Meal Battered Soft Shell Crabs

It was soft shell crab season.

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Crab On Edge

THE RECIPE

  • Soft shelled crabs
  • Almond meal, enough to coat
  • 1 egg (optional)
  • Oregano flakes
  • Red pepper flakes to taste
  • Ground pepper
  • Cooking Oil, as below
  • Lime slices
If you are doing this for company, definitely use the egg, the meal will adhere better.

Your fishmonger should clean and prepare your crabs for you. True soft shell crabs will be papery in texture. You do eat the shells (I had to explain this to someone I ate lunch with the day I brought leftovers in). This is the brand new shell the crab develops after he or she has shed the old hard one, in order to grow larger each year.

Dip each crab in egg you’ve beaten to a froth in a bowl (if using).

Spread out almond meal with oregano and peppers, so you can roll it in the mix. Both sides, top and bottom, and edges.

Get some olive oil, coconut oil, or avocado oil going in the skillet. I don’t deep fry these, I simply watch to see when they need turning. Turn heat to medium high, and when a drop of water will cause the oil to sizzle, your crabs are ready for their destination.

Cook, say three minutes a side (make sure they’re no longer translucent), and then flip back over for another 30 seconds on the first side. Remove, serve with lime, which you will squeeze over your crab.

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Crab ‘n’ Lime

When you cut them, you will discover in the belly area some green material. That’s the tomale, which has the same equivalent in the lobster. Sometimes you will also discover orange material. That’s roe. Is all good. Trust me. The soft shell is good, too.

If you have leftover crab, cut it up and put it into a salad and take it to work (which is why I had that discussion at lunch that day….)
 
Soft shell crabs are a true gift. We have access to beautiful Blue Point crabs - one of my favorite gifts from the sea.

I drool over so many gifts of the sea! (I'd have thought living in Massachusetts I'd be getting as many as I had back in Connecticut... nope, they don't ship them to my side of the state, readily.) What i miss from your area of the country this spring was my annual crawfish meals - a grocery down in Connecticut sold them, still vibrant, fresh, and moving quickly. Unfortunately COVID kept me from running down for them.
 
Sounds amazing!! I've only had softshell crab a few times. Always when we were out to eat. If you can even find it in Michigan its usually more than I want to pay.
 
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