ISO SS Crabs

[cape chef]

Last night I was watching a woman from Maryland prepare this great looking Soft shell crab dish,in which she stuffed the crab with crab cakes and dredged them in seasoned flour and cooked them to a deep amber crispy golden brown then quickly finished them in the oven,it was at a Crab festival and they where amatures competing for prizes, I love these home spun cooking festivals they foster a pride in community and the foods always good and the beer always cold (mostly) anyway, I have been craving SS Crabs lately and am wondering if you have your favorite recipes or ways you've enjoyed eating them.

I'll share if you share....also,if your in an area which doesn't have ss crabs feel free to post about the crabby crustacions of your areas.

When I cook them at home for my family I do simple preparations of crispy crabs,

[marmalady]

When I cook 'em for hubbie, he likes the 'simpler is better' approach, so I just dip them in egg, then panko crumbs, saute, and serve with lemon/white wine buerre blanc. I've tried showing him other recipes, but he's stuck on that one!

And of course, there's the dragon roll at the sushi bars!

Or - a 'Mexican flavors' one;

season flour with ancho and chipotle powder, cumin, salt/pepper; make an egg dip with egg, a little water, salt/pepper, and chopped cilantro; season masa with salt/pepper/cumin.

Saute in a little oil, and make a poblano cream sauce:

Roast poblanos, peel and seed, and chop coarsely. Saute garlic/chopped onion in oil, add some Dos Equis or Tecate beer, and reduce down; add cream and reduce; add more beer if it's too thick. Add poblanos, and drizzle over crabs.

[cape chef]

This is a nice crispy and easy parmesan crusted sandwich.
Great with any cold beer

BTW..marmalady,I love your recipes thanks!

2 c Flour
1 c Parmesan; grated
1/2 ts Salt
1/4 ts Pepper
2 Egg; lightly beaten
1/4 ts Tabasco
1 c Mayonnaise
1 Lemon; juiced
Zest of 1 lemon; finely grated
1/2 ts Garlic; minced
1/2 ts Thyme
1 tb Olive oil; extra-virgin
1 c Oil; for frying
8 Soft-shell crabs; cleaned
8 Rolls, hard; halved
2 md Tomatoes; thinly sliced
2 Bn Arugula; large stems removed
In a medium bowl, combine 1 cup of the flour with the Parmesan, salt and pepper. Make a well in the center and add the eggs and 1/4 cup of water. Beat the eggs and water together and gradually incorporate the flour mixture to form a smooth batter. Add 1/8 teaspoon of the Tabasco and set aside to rest for 30 minutes. In another bowl, combine the mayonnaise, lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic, thyme, olive oil and the remaining 1/8 teaspoon Tabasco. Whisk to blend and set aside for at least 30 minutes. (The recipe can be prepared to this point up to 1 day ahead. Refrigerate the batter and mayonnaise. If the batter becomes very thick, thin it out with a little water.) Preheat the oven to 250F. In a large skillet, heat the peanut oil over moderately high heat to 350F. Dredge the crabs in the remaining 1 cup flour and shake off the excess. Dip 4 of the crabs in the batter, let some of the batter drip off, and then fry them in the skillet, turning once, until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels, place on a heatproof platter and keep warm in the oven. Repeat with the 4 remaining crabs. Scoop out some of the bread from the center of the rolls to hollow them slightly. Spread 2 heaping teaspoons of the mayonnaise on each half. Assemble the sandwiches by placing 2 or 3 slices of tomato and 4 or 5 arugula leaves on the bottom half of each roll. Set the fried crabs on top and close the sandwiches. Serve immediately. .

[panini]

CC
SSCrab Sand.
My fondest memory of my uncle Joe was when he would show up at the house with a cooler of SS crabs. I used to run to the car to get the Italian bread , all the heels would be torn off and eated by him on the way so I would turn them and snatch a few.
My dad got out all the black skillets, my job was to get a couple of clean mopeens sp? (dishcloth) fill a bowl of water and squeeze a bunch of lemons in the water, then put the dishcloths in the water.Crazy!?
Uncle Joe would start the grill with me and our job was to slice and toast the bread(the most important part of this sandwich) grilled golden brown .
While my dad dredges the crabs and got things ready to sautee them, we took the bread and rubbed freah garlic and sprinkled S&P on one side of every piece. We then made a dressing with balsamic,olive oil,red pepperflakes,parmesean,I think hoarseradish?pretty thick.
Then the guinea red from the basement and the cards hit the dining table. Buy this time all the family is there since most lived on the same block.
Now the sandwiches.the bread is layed out on a large cutting board. On goes the crab, a slice of tomato, and a dollup of sauce, topped with another piece of bread.
Then we ring out the towels and spread them out over all the sand. Put another board on top and flip the sand. and cover that layer with more towels.
The sand. is just a bit soft on the outside but still crunchy inside.
Sorry, I know this was long but I enjoyed the memory. Uncle Joe, sandwiches and a shinny silver dollar from the 1800's.every time I saw him.

[cape chef]

What a beautiful story Panini,thanks for sharing it with us:

and the recipe to ofcourse