Soft Shell Crabs On Toast Recipes

SOFT-SHELL CRAB TOAST

Steps:

• In a blender, combine parsley, jalapeño, lemon juice and salt. Add oil and 3 tablespoons water. Purée until sauce is smooth, adding additional water if needed, a tablespoon at a time, until you have a thick yet pourable sauce. Transfer sauce to a bowl and add more salt or lemon juice, or both, if needed.
• Heat broiler. Place bread slices in a single layer on a baking sheet. Broil, turning once, until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Rub toast with cut garlic. Drizzle with oil or slather with butter (butter is nice on pain de mie), remove from pan and set aside.
• Lightly coat crabs with oil and season with salt and pepper. Transfer, belly side up, to a large baking sheet (you can use the same one you used for the toast). Broil, turning once, until crisp and golden, about 2 minutes per side.
• Place one crab on top of each toast. Spoon a generous amount of sauce over each crab and serve with lemon wedges on the side.

GRILLED SOFT-SHELL CRABS WITH OLD BAY TARTAR SAUCE

Steps:

• Make the sauce: add mayonnaise, peppers, capers, pickles, lemon juice, chives, tarragon, mustard, and Old Bay seasoning to a bowl; whisk to mix.
• Season to taste with black pepper; sauce can be refrigerated, covered, for at least 1 week; bring to room temperature before serving.
• The crabs: melt the butter in a small saucepan over med-high heat.
• Add in garlic, shallot, and Old Bay seasoning; cook until the garlic and shallot have lost their rawness, about 2 minutes; they should be soft and translucent; do not let them brown; set flavored butter aside.
• Set up grill for direct grilling; preheat to high.
• When ready to cook brush and oil the grill grate; brush the crabs on both sides with some of the flavored butter.
• Place the crabs on the hot grate and grill until cooked through, about 2-4 minutes per side, basting with some of the flavored butter.
• When done, the shells will turn bright red.
• Brush the bread slices with the remaining flavored butter and grill them as well, about 1 minute per side.
• To serve: slather the toast with some of the Old Bay Tartar Sauce; place a lettuce leaf, a few tomato slices, and 2 soft-shell crabs on top.
• Serve with the remaining tartar sauce on the side.

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.

SHEILA'S SAUTEED SOFT-SHELL CRABS WITH LEMON BUTTER SAUCE

Steps:

• In Ziploc bag, add flour and Old Bay seasoning. Seal and shake to mix.
• In bowl, combine eggs and milk.
• Dredge crabs in egg mixture, then add to seasoned flour and shake to coat. Shake off excess when removing from bag.
• Heat 3 T. oil in large saute pan or skillet over medium heat. Add 3 crabs in a single layer and cook for about 3 minutes, then turn and cook for another 3 minutes. The crabs should be nice and golden brown. (Be careful when cooking, because they sometimes will pop and/or spatter.) Remove crabs to serving dish.
• Heat remaining 3 T. oil in pan, then add the next 3 crabs and repeat cooking instructions.
• Do not clean out pan when crabs are removed, but add butter. Let the butter melt and turn a little brown. Add the capers and the wine. Cook for about 1 minute, then add the lemon juice and the parsley. Cook for about 2 more minutes, or until reduced by about a third. Pour sauce over the crabs and serve.