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Boiled Soft-shell Crabs
Lift the projecting "wings" of the upper shell and remove the soft fins which lie under the sides of the back shell, and remove the flap or apron on the under shell. Wash and cook quickly before the crabs die. Wash with butter, and sprinkle with salt and cayenne pepper. Broil ten minutes over hot coals, turning twice to broil both sides. Serve upon slices of buttered toast.
A plain grilled soft-shell crab, cleaned at the last moment and cooked over live coals. The whole crab is eaten, shell and all, so the cleaning is the only fussy part.
- Clean it right before cookingThe original names two things to remove: the feathery gills (the "soft fins") under the points of the top shell, and the apron on the underside. Later practice also cuts away the face and stomach sac just behind the eyes with scissors; the recipe does not mention this step.
- "Before the crabs die"Soft-shells were sold alive because they spoil very fast once dead. Buy them live and kicking or buy them already cleaned and frozen; a limp, unrefrigerated soft-shell of unknown age is not worth cooking.
- Butter, not washing"Wash with butter" here means to brush the crabs generously with melted butter before they go over the fire.
- Heat and timingHot coals means a bed burned down to grey ash. Ten minutes total, turning twice, suits medium crabs; smaller ones will need less. They are done when the shell has turned reddish.
- CayenneA restrained pinch. The seasoning here is salt, cayenne and butter and nothing else, so the pepper carries the dish.
- YieldThe recipe gives no quantity. Cut the toast to fit under each crab so the buttery juices are caught rather than lost.
- Grades and sizesSoft-shells are still sold by size, from "hotels" up through "primes" and "jumbos." Cook a single size together or the small ones will be dry before the large ones are hot through.