Soft Shell Crabs With Garlic Herb Vinaigrette Recipes

SOFT-SHELL CRABS WITH GARLIC VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• To make the vinaigrette, in a mixing bowl, whisk together the salt, pepper, mustard and vinegar. Whisking constantly, slowly drizzle in the corn oil and then the olive oil. Stir in the garlic and herbs. Set aside.
• Coat the crabs lightly with the flour. Season on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat the corn oil in large nonstick skillet over high heat until the oil smokes. Add the crabs top side down and sauté for 1 1/2 minutes. Turn the crabs over, lower the heat to medium and sauté until browned on the bottom and cooked through, about 3 1/2 minutes.
• Spoon a pool of the vinaigrette into the center of 4 plates. Pat the crabs dry and place in the vinaigrette. Serve immediately.

SOFT-SHELL CRABS WITH GARLIC-HERB VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• 1 Peel and seed the tomato. Cut it lengthwise into ¼-inch-wide strips. Set aside.
• 2 Put the vinaigrette in a bowl and whisk in the garlic and cayenne. Set aside.
• 3 Just before cooking, clean the soft-shell crabs: Pull off the underbelly flap and gills and cut off the eyes. Put a little flour in a tea strainer and sift just enough over the crabs to lightly coat both sides.
• 4 Put 1 teaspoon of oil in each skillet and place over high heat. When the oil is just smoking, add 2 crabs to each pan. Sauté until brown and crisp, about 1½ minutes per side.
• 5 Stir the herbs into the vinaigrette. Spoon about 2 tablespoons onto the center of 6 dinner plates. Use the back of the spoon to spread the vinaigrette into a 6-inch circle. Arrange strips of tomato in a circle, spoke-fashion, with half of each strip in and half out of the vinaigrette.
• 6 Split each crab in half and place over the vinaigrette. Serve immediately.

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.

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.

SOFT-SHELL CRAB WITH LEMON HERB BUTTER AND SPRING VEGETABLE RAGOUT

Steps:

• Clean the crabs and remove the air sacs by lifting the bib on both sides. In a stainless bowl, add the milk and buttermilk and place the crabs in it to coat.
• In a bowl, whisk together the flour and salt and pepper, to taste.
• In a non-corrosive pan over high heat, add 2 tablespoons of water. Bring to a boil and gradually whisk in the butter, lowering the heat and whisking constantly until all is incorporated. Keep warm.
• Bring 4 saucepans of salted water to a boil. Blanche the haricots in one, the favas in another, the peas in a third and asparagus in a fourth. When just cooked, strain the vegetables and add each into separate ice water baths. Strain and reserve the haricots, peas and peel the favas, keeping cool. When favas are cooled, peel outer skin and reserve. Cut the asparagus on the bias.
• In a saute pan, add 1 ounce of the butter sauce and over medium heat, add the shallots. Sweat until transparent and add the garlic and cook 1 minute more. Saute the scallions (or pearl onions) and radishes until warmed through. They should still be crisp. Add the blanched favas, haricots verts, peas and roasted scallions or pearl onions and cook a few more minutes. Check salt and pepper and add savory. Keep warm.
• Preheat and oven to 375 degrees F.
• Remove the soft-shell crabs from the milk mixture and shake off excess. Dip into seasoned flour and shake off any excess.
• In a saute pan over medium heat, add the vegetable oil and when hot, add the soft-shells, top down. Saute about 2 minutes until brown and crisp and turn. Place in an oven for 2 to 3 minutes until cooked through. Remove from pan and wipe out, keeping crabs warm. Deglaze with the lemon juice, add the butter sauce, tarragon and chervil; do not boil.
• On 4 warm plates, place about 1/2-cup of the vegetable mixture and 1 soft-shell crab, surround with the butter herb sauce.

SAUTEED SOFT-SHELL CRABS WITH GARLIC AND BUTTER

Steps:

• Season crabs with salt and pepper and dredge in the flour, shaking off excess. Set aside.
• In a large skillet over medium high heat, add the oil and saute the crabs until soft, about 2 minutes on each side. Remove the crabs and set aside. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Then add the capers and white wine. Cook until wine has reduced to about 1/2. Swirl in the butter and the chopped chives. Season with salt and pepper.
• Transfer crabs to a plate, spoon sauce over the crabs and garnish with Essence.
• Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar or container.
• Recipe from "New New Orleans Cooking", by Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch. Published by William and Morrow, 1993.

GRILLED SOFTSHELL CRAB SALAD WITH GREEN GARLIC VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• Preheat grill. Brush crabs with olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Grill for 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until cooked through.Divide above ingredients among 4 large plates. Top each plate with a crab and drizzle with green garlic vinaigrette.
• Place vinegar, shallot, parsley, garlic in a blender and blend until smooth. Slowly add olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste.

SOFT-SHELL CRABS WITH WILTED SPINACH AND WARM TOMATO-BASIL VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• Make soft-shelled crabs:
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Dip each crab in milk and them lightly coat both sides with flour. Heat butter and oil together in a large, oven proof (no plastic handles) pan over medium heat. Add crabs and sauté until crispy and golden, about 4 minutes. Place pan in preheated oven and cook 3 more minutes. Transfer crabs to paper toweling to absorb oil. Set aside and keep warm.
• Make warm herb vinaigrette:
• In a large bowl, combine shallots, basil, extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar and lemon juice. After these ingredients are incorporated, add the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Mix well, cover with plastic and refrigerate until ready to serve.
• When ready to prepare dish, warm the vinaigrette in a sauce pan over high heat, removing from stove when it begins to simmer.
• Make wilted spinach:
• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add spinach and sauté 4 minutes, until wilted. Drain liquid.
• Serve:
• Place wilted spinach on one side of four individual dinner plates. Arrange two soft-shell crabs over each mound of spinach, overlapping one over the other. Spoon tomato vinaigrette over crabs and around the sides of the plate.
• To properly clean a soft-shelled crab:
• Peel back the pointed part of the shell and scrape away the gills from each side. Using sharp scissors, cut off the head and carefully squeeze out the green bubble behind the eyes. Next, bend back the "apron," the thin piece that folds under the crab. Twist the apron until it breaks off, removing the intestinal vein at the same time.