Craving for a delightful seafood delicacy? Look no further than sautéed soft-shelled crabs, a culinary masterpiece that combines the sweet, succulent flavors of tender crab meat with the crispy, buttery goodness of herbed toast. This dish offers a symphony of textures and flavors that will tantalize your taste buds and leave you craving for more. Prepared with fresh, soft-shelled crabs, this recipe guides you through the process of sautéing them to perfection, ensuring a golden-brown exterior and a moist, flaky interior. Served atop crispy herbed toast, each bite delivers a burst of savory, aromatic goodness. Whether you're a seasoned seafood enthusiast or a novice cook, this recipe provides clear instructions and helpful tips to ensure success in your culinary adventure. Get ready to embark on a delightful journey of flavors with sautéed soft-shelled crabs on herbed toast.
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SAUTEED SOFT-SHELL CRABS WITH CAPER BROWN BUTTER
Steps:
- To prepare the soft-shell crabs: Put the flour in a pie dish or plate and season with a fair amount of salt and pepper. Dredge the crabs in the seasoned flour to coat, shaking off the excess. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high flame. Lay the crabs in the hot oil in a single layer without crowding; you may have to fry them in batches. Be careful, the crabs have a tendency to pop and spatter. Cook the crabs for about 3 minutes on each side, turning once, until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and cover to keep warm.
- Lower the heat to medium and add the butter to the pan. Let the butter melt and cook until it just begins to brown. Add the capers and wine; cook, stirring, for 2 minutes until almost dry. Add the lemon juice and parsley; season with salt and pepper. Pour the caper brown butter sauce over the crabs and serve with lemon wedges.
SOFT-SHELL CRAB TOAST
Broiling is perhaps the easiest way to cook soft shell crabs. All you do is oil up the crabs, lay them on a baking sheet and broil them until crisp and bronzed on both sides - under 10 minutes. It's also one of the tastiest ways to cook them: their edges crisp and char while their bellies swell with sweet, saline juices. Here, the broiled crabs are laid on toast and served as open-faced sandwiches. The toast absorbs the crab juices and also heightens the crunch. If you're pressed for time, or if you're a purist, you can skip the parsley jalapeño sauce. A lemon wedge is all you really need to bring out the sweetness of the crab.
Provided by Melissa Clark
Categories quick, appetizer, main course
Time 20m
Yield 6 appetizer servings, or 3 main course servings
Number Of Ingredients 11
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.
Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 322, UnsaturatedFat 16 grams, Carbohydrate 16 grams, Fat 20 grams, Fiber 2 grams, Protein 19 grams, SaturatedFat 3 grams, Sodium 408 milligrams, Sugar 2 grams, TransFat 0 grams
SAUTEED SOFT-SHELL CRABS WITH GARLIC AND BUTTER
Provided by Food Network
Categories appetizer
Time 32m
Yield 3 appetizer servings
Number Of Ingredients 18
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.
SAUTéED SOFT-SHELL CRABS WITH LEMON-BUTTER PAN SAUCE RECIPE
These crispy, plump, and briny soft-shell crabs cook up in just a few minutes, and are then topped with an even quicker lemon-brown butter pan sauce with capers and parsley. It's as pure a celebration of fresh soft-shell crabs as it gets, with nothing extraneous in the way.
Provided by Daniel Gritzer
Categories Entree Mains Quick and Easy Quick Dinners
Time 20m
Yield 2
Number Of Ingredients 7
Steps:
- In a shallow bowl, season flour with salt and pepper. Lightly dredge crabs in the seasoned flour.
- In a 10-inch stainless steel skillet, melt 4 tablespoons (60g) butter over medium-high heat until foamy. Add crabs, shell-side down, and cook until browned and crisp, about 3 minutes; be careful, as soft-shell crabs sometimes pop in the pan. Flip crabs and cook until crisp and golden on bottom side, about 3 minutes. Transfer crabs to paper towel-lined plates and season lightly with salt.
- Add remaining 4 tablespoons (60g) butter to the skillet and melt until foaming. Lower heat to medium and cook until the butter turns a medium-brown color, about 2 minutes.
- Add capers and cook until lightly crisped, about 1 minute. Add lemon juice, swirl to combine, and remove from heat.
- Stir parsley into pan sauce, season with salt, if needed. Transfer crabs to a serving platter and spoon sauce on top. Serve right away.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 704 kcal, Carbohydrate 13 g, Cholesterol 376 mg, Fiber 1 g, Protein 48 g, SaturatedFat 31 g, Sodium 1274 mg, Sugar 0 g, Fat 51 g, ServingSize Serves 2 as a main or 4 as a starter, UnsaturatedFat 0 g
SAUTEED SOFT-SHELL CRABS
Provided by Moira Hodgson
Categories dinner, lunch, main course
Time 40m
Yield 2 servings
Number Of Ingredients 17
Steps:
- Heat the olive oil in a saute pan and add shallot and garlic. Cook gently for about two minutes, or until translucent. Add the tomatoes and stir until the juices are released.
- Turn up the heat and cook until the tomatoes are somewhat dry.
- Season with salt, pepper and cayenne.
- Remove from heat and whisk in the butter, a few cubes at a time. Adjust seasoning and stir in the parsley and basil. Add lemon if necessary. Keep the sauce warm (do not overheat or it may curdle).
- Prepare the leeks. Remove the green part and cut the leeks in julienne. Wash and dry them thoroughly. Heat the peanut oil in a deep fryer and fry the leeks until light golden brown and crisp. Drain on paper towels and salt lightly. Set aside.
- Prepare the crabs. Dip the crabs in milk, then in seasoned flour. Heat the peanut oil in a large skillet and saute the crabs, starting with the shell side down first, for two minutes. Turn over and saute for one-and-a-half to two minutes on the other side. Drain of paper towels.
- Serve the crabs on heated plates. If serving two crabs person, spread tomato butter on each plate and place the crabs in a V shape, with the legs facing each other. Mound the fried leeks in the middle of the V and garnish with parsley or basil leaves. If serving three crabs, arrange them in a triangle and mound the the leeks in the center. Garnish.
SAUTEED SOFT-SHELL CRABS CHI KIT WONG, THE FLOWER DRUM
Provided by Fred Ferretti
Categories dinner, main course
Time 20m
Yield 2 to 4 servings depending upon other dishes served
Number Of Ingredients 15
Steps:
- Crabs are usually sold cleaned and iced; if not, to clean them: with sharp knife cut off apron and flap that folds under rear body. Turn crab over and cut off facial parts at point just back of eyes. With knife fold back covering at points of back and remove spongy material from gills. Wash in cold water and pat dry.
- Combine all sauce ingredients in bowl and reserve.
- In large bowl coat crabs with mixture of beaten egg, white pepper and 1 1/2 tablespoons of cornstarch. When coated, dust thoroughly with remaining cornstarch until almost white.
- Heat wok over high heat and add peanut oil. When wisp of white smoke appears, place crabs in oil and fry until crisp. Remove from oil. Let oil get hot again and place crabs in oil a second time and fry until quite crisp. Remove and drain.
- Drain oil from wok. Place wok back on heat and when residue of oil heats add ginger, garlic, scallions and peppers and stir for about 40 seconds. Add crabs and mix well. Add sauce and mix all ingredients until crabs are thoroughly coated. Remove from wok and serve immediately.
Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 178, UnsaturatedFat 8 grams, Carbohydrate 15 grams, Fat 10 grams, Fiber 0 grams, Protein 6 grams, SaturatedFat 2 grams, Sodium 236 milligrams, Sugar 3 grams
SAUTEED SOFTSHELL CRABS
Provided by R. W. Apple Jr.
Categories dinner, easy, quick, main course
Time 20m
Yield 4 servings
Number Of Ingredients 7
Steps:
- Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Place flour on a plate, and season with salt and pepper. Dredge soft-shell crabs in flour, shaking off excess. When the skillet is hot, add half the butter and canola oil to a depth of about 1/4 inch. Add four crabs, backside down, being careful to avoid spattering. When they brown lightly, turn, and finish cooking on the other side, until cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes total, depending on the size of the crabs. Drain on paper towels, and repeat with remaining crabs, adding more butter or oil to pan if needed.
- In a small bowl, stir together remaining clarified butter and lemon juice. Drizzle over crabs, sprinkle with parsley, and serve immediately.
Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 268, UnsaturatedFat 8 grams, Carbohydrate 25 grams, Fat 14 grams, Fiber 1 gram, Protein 11 grams, SaturatedFat 5 grams, Sodium 228 milligrams, Sugar 0 grams, TransFat 0 grams
PAN-FRIED SOFT-SHELL CRABS
Ask your fishmonger to clean soft-shell crabs for you. Crabs should be cooked no more than six hours after they are cleaned.
Provided by Martha Stewart
Categories Food & Cooking Ingredients Seafood Recipes
Number Of Ingredients 8
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.
SAUTEED SOFT-SHELL CRAB
Categories Milk/Cream Shellfish Sauté Quick & Easy Crab Spring Parsley Parade
Yield Makes 4 servings
Number Of Ingredients 8
Steps:
- 1. Place the milk in a shallow bowl large enough to hold the crabs in a single layer. Add the crabs and let them soak for 1 hour. Drain and discard the milk.
- 2. Season the flour with salt and pepper in a paper or plastic bag. Lightly dredge each crab in the flour.
- 3. Heat the oil and butter together in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and sautè the crabs in batches until golden, about 4 minutes per side. Add more oil and butter to the pan if necessary.
- 4. To serve, place a crab in the center of 4 salad plates and garnish each with a sprinkle of chopped parsley and a small dollop of Rèmoulade Sauce.
SOFT-SHELLED CRABS MEUNIèRE
Steps:
- Combine milk, salt, and pepper in a shallow dish and soak crabs 5 minutes. Lift 1 crab out of milk, letting excess drip off, and dredge in flour. Knock off excess flour and transfer to a tray. Repeat with remaining crabs, arranging them in 1 layer as coated.
- Heat clarified butter in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté crabs, upside down, 2 minutes. Turn over and sauté until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes more.
- Transfer crabs to a serving dish. Add butter pieces to skillet and cook until golden brown with a nutty aroma. Add lemon juice and parsley (mixture will bubble up) and remove from heat.
- Season sauce with salt and pepper and drizzle over crabs.
SAUTEED SOFT-SHELLED CRABS ON HERBED TOAST
Provided by Rena Coyle
Categories dinner, main course
Time 15m
Yield Four servings
Number Of Ingredients 9
Steps:
- Trim the crust off the bread, then cut each slice in half.
- Melt four tablespoons of butter in the skillet, add the garlic and saute for one minute. Add the bread and cook until it browns, turn it over and continue to cook until that side browns. Sprinkle the tarragon over the toast and set it on the side.
- Season the flour with salt and pepper. Pat the crab in the flour and shake off any excess flour.
- Add the oil to the skillet and heat. Add the crabs and saute for one and a half minutes, then add an additional four tablespoons of butter, swirling it around as it melts. Cook for an additional one and a half minutes, then flip it over and cook for another three minutes. Remove the crabs to a platter and keep warm.
- Pour off the hot oil and butter from the pan. Add the remaining two tablespoons of butter to the pan. Let the butter melt and just start browning. At this point, squeeze the lemon into the pan. It will bubble and thicken slightly. Remove the pan from the heat.
- Put two pieces of toast on each plate, then place a crab on each. Drizzle the sauce over the crabs and sprinkle on some parsley, then serve immediately.
Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 402, UnsaturatedFat 17 grams, Carbohydrate 27 grams, Fat 27 grams, Fiber 2 grams, Protein 13 grams, SaturatedFat 9 grams, Sodium 287 milligrams, Sugar 2 grams, TransFat 1 gram
Tips:
- Choose the freshest crabs possible. Look for crabs that are lively and have a shiny, blue-green shell. Avoid crabs that are dull or have a slimy texture.
- Clean the crabs thoroughly before cooking. Remove the gills and intestines, and rinse the crabs under cold water.
- Be careful not to overcook the crabs. Soft-shelled crabs cook quickly, so just a few minutes per side is all they need.
- Serve the crabs immediately after cooking. They are best enjoyed hot and crispy.
Conclusion:
Sautéed soft-shelled crabs are a delicious and easy-to-prepare dish that is perfect for a special occasion or a casual meal. With a few simple ingredients and a little bit of time, you can create a dish that is sure to impress your friends and family. So next time you're looking for a unique and flavorful seafood dish, give sautéed soft-shelled crabs a try. You won't be disappointed!
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