Until recently, I thought of soft-shell crabs the same way I do professional wrestling: a spectator sport. I'd let myself be served a steamy styrofoam tray of the crustaceans (preferably from a great roadside seafood shack in Charleston), but cooking them myself? I didn’t feel ready to jump into the ring.
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I had a litany of reasons why. There's the issue of transportation (smelly live crabs on the subway), of cleaning (the instructional videos are Camp Crystal Lake-worthy), and of the crabs flipping the script and eating me instead of the other way around (see my anxiety drawings for details).
But after sucking it up and cooking a batch last week (and, ahem, dutifully Instagramming the results), I now know that soft-shell crabs are not only easy, but kind of fun.
There are, however, some things I wish I'd known.
Brendan Hayes, president of NYC's The Lobster Place, compared soft-shell crabs to lobster, recommending keeping the crabs alive for as long as possible before cooking. This, of course, entails slaughtering and butchering your soft-shell crabs at home (not it!). I decided to go with cleaned crabs.
If you, like me, prefer to have the crabs pre-cleaned by your fishmonger, Hayes suggests cooking the crabs the same day. This should guarantee the crabs are fresh.
Eating soft-shell crabs fresh out of the hot oil is key, so have everything you plan to sprinkle on the crabs ready to go. Lots of people opt for a sandwich (or even a taco), but I think the crabs are just as good on their own with a couple squeezes of lemon, some chopped parsley, and a nice shower of flaky salt.
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I fry chicken at least once a month, and one of my tried-and-true methods involves dunking, dragging, and drenching the chicken in seasoned flour. Turns out this method works for crabs, too. Why? Because an exterior that is as coated and dry as possible will turn out the crunchy crab of your dreams.
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In order to cook these little monsters through and get the outside crispy, you need to almost flash-fry them. And to flash-fry them, you need to get your oil hot (if you don't, your crabs will poach, and the shell won't snap). Use a cooking fat with a high smoke point and a complementary flavor—I used ghee.
You know how I said this is like frying chicken? Forget about that for a second. With chicken, constant turning and oil circulation is necessary. With soft shell crab, you flip it once and don’t touch it for two minutes. After two minutes on the other side (do not disturb! no touching!), it's ready for forks, knives, or better yet, your bare hands.
You'll notice a creamy yellow paste near the face of the soft-shell crab. That's called tomalley, and you'll also find it in lobsters, too. It's the crustacean's digestive system, and while it is completely edible (and, I admit, not half bad), it's totally understandable if you don't want it. But you went through all the trouble of frying soft shell crab—why not eat all of it?
