Soft shell crabs are a delicious seasonal treat that often confuse first-time eaters Unlike a regular crab, you can eat a soft shell crab whole! The entire crab is edible after it’s cleaned and cooked In this article, I’ll explain exactly how to eat soft shell crab, from buying and preparing to cooking.
If you’ve never tried soft shell crab before, you might be puzzled when a whole fried crab arrives on your plate You may wonder – am I supposed to eat the entire thing, shell and all? The answer is yes!
Soft shell crab is simply a blue crab that has recently molted its hard exoskeleton. During this molting process, the crab emerges soft and vulnerable until its new shell hardens. It’s during this brief window between molts that soft shell crabs are harvested.
Since the crab’s shell is soft, you can eat the entire crab once it’s prepared. The top shell, legs, and claws are all edible. The key is properly cleaning the crab first by removing inedible parts like the face, guts, and gills.
So rest assured when you order soft shell crab in a restaurant or buy pre-cleaned soft shells from a market, the entire crab is ready to eat! Now let’s look at how to buy, prep, and cook these delicious crustaceans yourself.
Buying and Preparing Soft Shell Crabs
When buying soft shell crabs, look for crabs that feel firm and smell fresh, not fishy. Their shells should look moist and flexible, not dried out. Refrigerate any live crabs and plan to cook them within a day or two.
Before cooking, use scissors to cut off the face and remove the gills and guts. Lift up the top corner of the shell and snip out the feather-like gills. Scoop out any guts, then rinse thoroughly. Flip the crab over and detach the small apron flap on its underside. Now the crab is ready to cook.
Cooking Methods for Soft Shell Crabs
There are several ways to cook dressed soft shell crabs:
Deep Frying
Deep frying is a popular cooking method that makes the crab crispy on the outside and tender inside. Dredge the crabs in flour, egg wash, then back into flour before frying at 350-375°F until golden brown.
Pan Frying
Pan fry the crabs in a little oil over medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes per side. They’ll turn golden brown and develop a delicious crispy texture.
Grilling
Fire up the grill to 400°F. Brush the crabs with oil then grill for 2-3 minutes per side until grill marks appear. Grilled soft shells are slightly smoky and charred.
Baking
Arrange the crabs on a baking sheet and brush with olive oil. Bake at 450°F for 8-10 minutes until the shells turn reddish-brown. The meat will be succulent and sweet.
Eating and Serving Soft Shell Crab
Once cooked, you can pick up and eat soft shell crabs with your hands. Feel free to eat every bit, including the legs, claws, and fried shell. The shell becomes crispy and edible after cooking.
I recommend dipping your crab in melted butter, lemon juice, or cocktail sauce as you peel away and devour the tender meat inside. Don’t forget to suck the flavorful juices from the legs!
Soft shell crab also makes excellent sandwiches and tacos when placed atop greens, tomato, avocado or tangy slaw. You can even chop fried crabs into crunchy crab salad.
TipsSubmit a TipAll tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published
- If you eat seafood that is raw, undercooked, or spoiled, you could get food poisoning. [18] Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0 .
Advertisement
About This Article
Co-authored by:
How to Cook & Eat Softshell Crabs
FAQ
Do you eat the entire soft-shell crab?
Do you take the guts out of soft-shell crab?
What do soft-shell crabs taste like?
What part of a crab can’t you eat?
How do you eat soft shell crabs?
That’s it—you’re done! Soft shell crabs are eaten whole, ‘shell’ and all. The shell is quite pliable, and the meat inside is incredibly sweet, juicy, and bursting with pure crab flavor. Simple methods of cooking are often best: broiling, grilling, and especially, frying.
Are coconut crabs healthy to eat?
Crabs are rich in omega 3 fatty acids, protein, vitamins like riboflavin and minerals like selenium, copper, phosphorus. Coconut crabs are not known to be poisonous. The fat in the abdomen and the egg inside the female are the delicious edible parts. It is prepared by steaming or boiling them in coconut milk. Consuming coconut crab along with sea mango, cerbera manghas may make the coconut crab toxic due to the presence of cardiac cardenolides(cardiac active steroids). This causes electrolyte imbalance that affects the electrical conductivity of the heart.
Are soft shell crabs easy to cook?
No summer seafood feast is complete without a soft-shell crab recipe. This pan-fried version is particularly easy, as it involves nothing more than dredging the crabs in flour and cooking them in butter. Once fried to crispy perfection, the crabs are finished with fresh parsley and tangy lemon.
Can you eat soft shell crab before summer?
Forget burgers and hot dogs: When summer rolls around, the only thing on our minds is how much soft-shell crab we can physically consume before the season is over. It’s an all-to-easy feat, especially when we have this tempura crab recipe from chef Jaime Young of NYC’s popular all-day restaurant Sunday in Brooklyn.