Pork & Soft Shells Tonight...

hapster

Decided to keep the light and healthy theme going a little longer this week...

Never cooked or had soft shell crabs before, so I picked up 2 cleaned ones this morning along with some boneless pork chops at Wegmans. My plan is to brush the crabs with some hot pepper olive oil, hit em with some sea salt & pepper and then do them direct at about 425 for a few minutes each side till done... Pork will be dusted with a rub and done direct as well...

Got some veggies out of the garden my SIL & wife are doing so I am going to make some kind of a salsa / relish thing to top the crabs and pork using fresh green and jalapeno peppers, tomatoes, cilantro, and red onion.

I know my wife won't try the crabs, but I figured that Scoot & I can give them a shot... if we like them, I'll be sure and get some more for the weekend!

Pics later...

SGH

Standing by for the finale.  Hap, if you try the soft shell crabs and do not like them for some reason, don't dismiss them until you have tried them deep fried. There are some things that are just better deep fried. As good as they are grilled, deep fried is where it is at for soft shells. 

hapster

SGH said:

Standing by for the finale.  Hap, if you try the soft shell crabs and do not like them for some reason, don't dismiss them until you have tried them deep fried. There are some things that are just better deep fried. As good as they are grilled, deep fried is where it is at for soft shells. 

Thanks... figured I would go with about the easiest method first time out. I have a feeling that at least I will like them, then it may be time to break out the cast iron and fry them up

I'll be sure to let you know

jlsm

At the risk of violating Egg protocol, I must say I can't figure out why you would want to egg soft shells. You aren't cooking long enough to make the shells crispy on the grill. A good hot skillet and a little seasoned flour would probably turn out far better. I also can't figure out why people cook shellfish in a covered pan on the grill. No smoky flavor that way. But cooking them straight on the grill means you lose the liquor. 

nolaegghead

I have not grilled soft shells, but I have read it's a fantastic way to do them.

There are regional ways to cook everything, down here they're fried, but fried food, while good, is a little boring to me.

SGH

nolaegghead said:

but fried food, while good, is a little boring to me.

Please send me all of your boring fried shrimp, crabs and oysters

nolaegghead

SGH said:

nolaegghead said:

but fried food, while good, is a little boring to me.

Please send me all of your boring fried shrimp, crabs and oysters

I probably pan-fried 3000 softshell crabs when I cooked in college.  The butter frying gave a nice nutty brown butter flavor which brought out the crab flavor and texture.  Deep frying breaded softshells makes them taste more like anything else fried. 

I'm not saying I don't like fried food, it is delicious.  I'm just saying if you want to emphasize your protein, it's not the only way to go.

hapster

Well the crabs were pretty, pretty good...

SGH

Looks like a winner to me Hap. The pics are spectacular as always. 

johnmitchell

That looks great.. How was it..

hapster

Thanks guys... The crabs were nice and briney & smokey. Boneless porkchops rubbed with some Holycow and finished with the salsa and a little tater salad. 

SGH

Yeah buddy!! Looks mighty fine from here. I would tear that up!! Hap, with your permission, I'm going to PM you a sure fire winner for soft shells that you got to try brother. 

hapster

SGH said:

Yeah buddy!! Looks mighty fine from here. I would tear that up!! Hap, with your permission, I'm going to PM you a sure fire winner for soft shells that you got to try brother. 

Cool... Thanks

SGH

@hapster
Souther Style Soft Shell Crabs.
Ingredients:
1 cup melted butter.
2 tablespoons lemon pepper.
4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice.
1 tablespoon olive oil.
2 strips of bacon fried crisp and crumbled.
1 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
1/2 teaspoon of white pepper.
A dash of Worcestershire sauce.
1 large onion thinly sliced.
Note: The above is enough for 6 soft shell crabs. You can simply double, triple, etc, etc..the above for more crabs.  
Heat the 1 cup of butter until melted and combine all of the above ingredients EXCEPT for the onion and crabs. Once combined, brush the crabs throughly with this mixture. Save some of the mix to baste the crabs while they are broiling. Once coated, cover them and sit them in the fridge for 4-6 hours. It helps to use a rack inside of a pan when cooking. This will let them broil instead of semi boiling. When ready to cook, lay a slice of the onion on the rack where each crab will be and then sit the crabs on the onion slices. Place in a oven that is set to broil. Let cook for 5 minutes and then baste them with some of the remaining mixture from above. After you baste, flip the crabs and give them 4-5 minutes more upside down. When they are done give them one more wipe with the mixture. These are as good or better than fried. I know that's saying a lot. But trust me on this one my friend. We have been doing soft shells this way for decades. They are simply outstanding. I tried to PM this to you but there is some kind of issue with the forum. If you want it removed from here just let me know and I will gladly remove it. Hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do. 
Note: Recipe is from Frank Davis in NO, Louisiana. 

hapster

@SGH thanks for sharing this... I will have to give it a try

rsterman

Howdy Hap,

we live in Worcester County near Ocean City, Maryland.....I am a native from this area in Snow Hill, Md......my wife and I also had a cottage on Smith Island off Crisfield in the middle of the Chesapeake bay......a place where the residents know all things crab.......our bay crabs have such a delicate and unique taste that the goal is to not mask it in any way when frying them in the cast iron skillet......basically you clean them as normal,  after cleaning them they remain moist.....dry them as best you can....dredge them in a mixture of seasoned bread crumbs of your choice along with appropriate amounts of salt and pepper, along with old bay (all spices to individual tastes)......then sautee in a mixture of canola oil and butter.......in the skillet they will spit because of the residual moisture.....you will need a screen for the spatters.....sautee and turn until they are crispy on both sides......have ready on the side: fluffy white bread, fresh tomato slices, leaf lettuce, and of course mayo......build your sandwich while crabs are hot .....absolutely to die for......the real Eastern Shore of Maryland way to fix em......you'll love them this way......others dredge in an egg wash and dip the seasoning mix before frying......they ain't too shabby either......can't beat a soft crab sandwich.....just sayin.....