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Soft Shelled Crabs
Lift each point of back shell and remove spongy substance found beneath it, taking care to scrape and cut away every bit. Turn crab on its back and remove semi-circular piece dark, soft shell called "apron" or "flap" and more of the same spongy substance lying under it. Wash in cold water and dry carefully on towel. Season with salt and pepper, dip in egg and roll in crumbs. Fry about 3 minutes in a very hot fat, putting in only two at a time, as they should be ice cold when prepared. Serve with tartar sauce. Allow one large crab to a service.
A cleaning-and-frying method rather than a formal recipe, and the cleaning is the part that matters. Soft shells must be alive when dressed, so buy them the day you cook them or have the fishmonger clean them at the counter.
- The spongy substanceThese are the gills, sometimes called dead man's fingers. They sit under the pointed corners of the top shell and are gritty rather than poisonous, but they must come out. Modern practice also snips off the face just behind the eyes and squeezes out the sand sac.
- The apronOn the underside: a narrow spike on males, a broad triangle or dome on females. Pull it back and it comes away with the intestine attached.
- Fat temperatureThe book gives no temperature; "very hot fat" corresponds roughly to modern deep-frying heat, in the region of 350-375F. Cooler than that and the crab absorbs grease and the crumb slides off; much hotter and the coating darkens before the meat sets.
- Only two at a timeThe recipe's own reason is that the crabs go in ice cold; a small pan of fat drops sharply when cold crabs are added, so let it recover between batches.
- Standing backSoft shells hold water and will spit hard at first. Use a splatter screen and a long-handled spider, and lay them in shell side down.
- Three minutesNote that the recipe allows about three minutes in total, not three minutes a side.
- CrumbsPeriod crumbs generally meant dried bread grated fine. Fine dry breadcrumbs, cracker meal or a half-and-half mix of flour and cornmeal all work.
- ServingOne large crab per person, as the recipe directs, suits a first course; for a main dish two or three are usual, depending on grade.