Aug
29
Written by:
Chef Kimberly Johnston
8/29/2010 1:21 PM
- Mediums - 3 1/2 to 4 inches
- Hotels - 4 to 4 1/2
- Primes - 4 1/2 to 5
- Jumbos - 5 to 5 1/2
- Whales - 5 1/2 inches and larger
The Primes are the sweetest and tangy and the Jumbos come in 2nd in my book. They are all enjoyable!
4 comment(s) so far...
Re: A little education on Soft-Shell Crabs
I love soft shell crabs, but never thought of making them into a sammie! This will be great for this weekend's BBQ. I also like your blog about the "Education of Soft-Shells".
By Sheila Jona on
9/2/2010 8:45 AM
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Re: A little education on Soft-Shell Crabs
I love Soft-Shells too, but this information on what size to buy was and will be very helpful.
By Penin Ho on
9/5/2010 7:35 AM
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Re: A little education on Soft-Shell Crabs
Frozen soft shell are the way to go if you are outside of the regions that produce in season.When producers ship "live' soft shells they are no longer truly soft.
The reason is that as soon as the crab shed, they are too weak and unable to retain water.
This is when they are at their most delicate and when 90-95% are cleaned,sized and graded and then nitrogen frozen.The better packers will place them in vacuum packaging or individually wrap them.They are already cleanes and ready to go.I suggest thawing them in seasoned buttermilk over a 24 hour period (reg. milk is good as well).Drain, pat dry,dust with mixture of flour and pulverized panko,creal or crackers and pan or deep fry.
The watermen put the shedded crabs in to seasoning tanks for up to 3-4 weeks which gives the crab time to start forming a 'paper shell' (I made this term up)! It will also help retain water so that when they arrive in the Northern markets they are quite lively.This is the way our very finest chefs insist on receiving them and it just goes to show you.....They have the texture of finding a piece of plastic wrapper on your pallet.
Lesson: Find a good quality frozen(Handy is the largest U.S.packer and there are good ones from Asia as wel) or...get down to Secretary maryland or Saxus Virginia and get them hot of the press in season.
By bill dugan on
9/10/2010 10:15 AM
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Re: A little education on Soft-Shell Crabs
If you are in the midwest, place your order like we do - The Fish Guy in Chicago which Bill Dugan owns.
By Chef Alex on
9/14/2010 9:20 AM
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