Soft Shell Crab Poor Boy Recipes

SOFT-SHELL CRAB POOR-BOY

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Split bread in half and remove some of the soft white crumb with your fingers. Toast bread lightly in oven, about 10 to 15 minutes.
• Beat egg and milk together in a bowl; combine the cornmeal, flour, cayenne and a large pinch of salt on a plate. Put about 1/4-inch of oil in a deep skillet broad enough to accommodate crabs, and turn heat to medium. When oil is hot -- a pinch of flour will sizzle -- dip crabs in milk-egg mixture, then dredge in the cornmeal-flour mixture. Put in skillet; adjust heat so crabs bubble gently but not furiously in oil.
• When bottom is nicely browned, 3 to 5 minutes, turn crabs and brown other side; crabs will be quite firm when done.
• Serve on toasted bread, garnished as you like.

SOFT SHELL CRAB PO BOYS

Steps:

• In one bowl, beat together the eggs and milk.
• In another bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder.
• Season the cleaned crabs with salt and a generous amount of pepper.
• Dip crabs thoroughly in the egg mixture, then in the flour mixture. Set aside.
• Pour vegetable oil into a fry pan to about 1" deep. Heat to very hot.
• Cook crabs until golden brown, turning once, about 4-5 minutes on each side. Drain on paper toweling.
• Cut the toasted French bread into four pieces. Dress the bread of each sandwich with mayonnaise, lettuce and a couple slices of tomatoes. Place the two crabs inside each sandwich and season with a dash or two of hot sauce.

POOR BOY SANDWICH

Steps:

• Cut a thin slice off top of roll; set aside. Hollow out center, reserving 1/2 cup of bread and leaving a 1/4-in. shell. Combine butter and celery seed; spread over inside of roll and on cut surface of top. Combine remaining ingredients and reserved bread; spoon into roll. Replace top.

PAN-FRIED SOFT-SHELL CRABS

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 CRAB SANDWICHES WITH SPICY TARTAR SAUCE (PO BOY)

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.

FRIED SOFT-SHELL CRAB

Steps:

• Clean each crab. Lift one pointed side of top shell and remove the gills by pulling them out. Put top shell back down and repeat on other side. On the bottom side remove tail flap by twisting and pulling off. Using a pair of scissors, remove the face by cutting behind the eyes. Rinse the crabs thoroughly with cold water. Dry on paper towels.
• Heat oil in a deep fryer to 365 degrees F (180 degrees F). In a shallow dish, whisk together the egg and milk using a fork. In a separate bowl, stir salt and pepper into the flour. Lightly salt the crab, then dip in the flour, dip in the egg, then in the flour again.
• Carefully place crabs into the deep-fryer. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, or until golden brown on one side. Carefully turn over, and cook until golden on the other side. Drain on paper towels. Serve as soon as they are cool enough to eat. You can eat the whole crab.