Best 6 Air Fried Soft Shell Crab Recipes
Welcome to the world of crispy and succulent air-fried soft shell crab! Prepare to embark on a culinary journey where you'll discover the secrets to achieving a perfectly cooked soft shell crab using your trusty air fryer. Whether you prefer a classic batter or a flavorful coating, this article will guide you through the process of selecting the freshest crabs, preparing them for cooking, and customizing your air fryer settings to achieve the ideal crunchiness. Get ready to tantalize your taste buds with a delightful symphony of flavors as you explore the best recipes for air-fried soft shell crab.
Check out the recipes below so you can choose the best recipe for yourself!
CRUNCHY SOFT-SHELL CRABS
Provided by Melissa Clark
Categories dinner, quick, main course
Time 20m
Yield 4 to 6 servings
Number Of Ingredients 8
Steps:
- Soak crabs in a bowl of buttermilk.
- In a deep fryer or saucepan, heat 4 inches of oil to 375 degrees.
- Whisk together cornmeal and flour, and salt and pepper to taste.
- Remove crabs from buttermilk, letting excess drip back into bowl. Coat crabs evenly in the cornmeal mixture. Working in batches, fry until golden brown and crisp all over, turning if needed, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain on paper towels. While warm, season with salt. Serve with lemon wedges, if desired.
FRIED SOFT-SHELL CRAB
These crabs are fried to a light crisp, and you can eat the whole crab. It is my favorite food.
Provided by WESBRYANT
Categories Main Dish Recipes Seafood Main Dish Recipes Crab
Time 35m
Yield 4
Number Of Ingredients 6
Steps:
- Clean each crab. Lift one pointed side of top shell and remove the gills by pulling them out. Put top shell back down and repeat on other side. On the bottom side remove tail flap by twisting and pulling off. Using a pair of scissors, remove the face by cutting behind the eyes. Rinse the crabs thoroughly with cold water. Dry on paper towels.
- Heat oil in a deep fryer to 365 degrees F (180 degrees F). In a shallow dish, whisk together the egg and milk using a fork. In a separate bowl, stir salt and pepper into the flour. Lightly salt the crab, then dip in the flour, dip in the egg, then in the flour again.
- Carefully place crabs into the deep-fryer. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, or until golden brown on one side. Carefully turn over, and cook until golden on the other side. Drain on paper towels. Serve as soon as they are cool enough to eat. You can eat the whole crab.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 357.9 calories, Carbohydrate 25.4 g, Cholesterol 65.2 mg, Fat 24.4 g, Fiber 0.8 g, Protein 9.1 g, SaturatedFat 3.7 g, Sodium 76 mg, Sugar 1.6 g
CRISP-FRIED SOFT-SHELL CRABS RECIPE
Convenience foods have a horrible reputation, in most cases entirely justified. In the quest for ease, other attributes -- such as flavor -- get tossed willy-nilly by the wayside.But there is an exception. In fact, let's go even further: One of the world's most inconvenient foods also comes in a convenient easy-to-cook package. Soft-shell crabs: what a great invention.Soft-shell crabs are blue crabs (genus: Callinectes: "beautiful swimmer"; species: sapidus: "delicious") that have been captured in mid-molt. Blue crabs (the toast of the East and Gulf coasts, which nature has tragically deprived of our vastly superior Dungeness) are sweet enough, it is true. But when it takes five minutes of determined cracking through sharp bits of shell to get at a paltry couple of ounces of meat, you really begin to recalculate the cost-benefit ratio.Once a year, though, blue crabs give us a break. Freed from that poorly designed packaging, they deliver all of the sweet crab flavor with none of the fuss. But wait, it gets better. Once a regional specialty or restaurant splurge, they are now available at fancy groceries in Southern California. Imagine, soft-shell crabs whenever you want them.Well, it's not quite that simple. In the first place, soft-shells are seasonal: They're here only in the late spring and early summer. And then there's the price. Even when you cook them yourself, they are still expensive -- almost $6 a piece.Don't let that put you off, though. There are few things that are easier to fix and there are almost none that are better. Roll a crab in a little flour and fry it quickly. Do it just right and you get an irresistible combination of crunchy crust and sweet, buttery, briny crabmeat. Serve it with a nice tart salad and a simple sauce and you've got a meal you'll remember for years.That soft-shell crabs cost so much is no mystery. In fact, it's just short of a miracle that we get them at all. Harvesting soft-shell crabs is as much craft as catch.To grow, crabs need to shed their hard shells. Essentially, they get so big they simply burst out of them (a feeling with which many soft-shell crab eaters probably have some sympathy). When the crabs are young, they grow rapidly and may do this as often as every several days. When they get bigger, eating size, it can take several months.Watermen who catch crabs have learned to recognize signs that tell them how soon this will happen. The next-to-the-last small swimming leg is the key: when a trace of white appears, the crab will molt within a couple of weeks. When it turns pink, it's a matter of days. When the leg shows red, they're just about ready to bust.Just-caught crabs are sorted accordingly and stored in saltwater cages. There they are inspected three or four times a day in order to be harvested at just the right moment -- when they have shed their old shells and before the new soft skin has had a chance to harden (something it will begin to do within a matter of hours if left alone).That's when we get them, flown in and, ideally, still alive but stored on ice so their metabolism has slowed enough that they may appear otherwise.The trickiest part about cooking soft-shells is cleaning them, and that's not so much hard as horrific. It's definitely not for the squeamish. The first step is cutting off the crab's "face" about a quarter-inch behind its eyes. This kills the crab, though it may still twitch a bit. Remove the gray sand sac inside. Lift the tips of the shell and cut out the gills, or "dead man's fingers." Cut off the apron underneath and the crab is ready for cooking.At most seafood markets (at least the ones fancy enough to sell soft-shells), the counterman will clean them for you. This is fine as long as you're planning on cooking the crabs within a couple of hours.When you're shopping for soft-shells, try to get the biggest, plumpest ones you can. Most places air-freight the crabs in several times a week, but if you're not picky, sometimes you'll still get crabs that are limp and drained.There really is only one best way to cook soft-shell crabs -- frying (there are recipes for broiling, but these are to be tried only after you've had your absolute fill of fried). Even within the narrow realm of frying, there are many choices to be made.The simplest way to prepare crabs for frying is merely to dip them lightly in flour. This gives you a very light, slightly crisp crust. Other cooks use cornmeal or a mixture of flour and cornmeal. Some use bread crumbs or even crushed saltines.All of these may be fine for everyday eating, but when I get soft-shells only once or twice a season, I want something with more bang for my buck. My ideal of a soft-shell crab is more like the seafood version of chicken Kiev: a very crisp crust that practically explodes with juice when you cut into it.To get this crust, you need to use some egg. But pure egg makes the crust too heavy and too thick to coat evenly. Beating in a bit of milk is the key. It lightens the batter and thins it so it will cover every nook and cranny of the crab. The lactose sugars in the milk also make the crust a nicer brown than you would get if you used egg by itself.The process of flour-egg wash-flour is a bit messy, but it can be done well in advance. In fact, refrigerating the battered crabs for even half an hour before frying sets the crust so it won't fall apart during cooking. You can prepare them as much as a couple of hours ahead if you'd like.I find it easiest to batter the crabs and chill them on a wax paper-covered cookie sheet while I prepare the sauce and the side dishes. That way, the entire meal is ready when it is time to fry.Although you can deep-fry soft-shells, I think just a quarter to half an inch of oil in a heavy skillet is sufficient. Just make sure the oil is hot before you start. This much oil isn't deep enough to allow the accurate use of a thermometer, so fall back on the old bread test: Dip the corner of a piece of bread in the oil; when it sends up a thick rush of bubbles, the oil is hot enough. (Be sure to remove the crust, which hardly bubbles at all.)The frying should be fast and furious. Keep the fire at medium-high and the surface of the oil boiling. The crabs will take only four or five minutes for each side to brown, time enough for them to be cooked through.From Louisiana to Maryland, it seems that the classic accompaniment to a fried soft-shell crab is tartar sauce. Don't snicker. A good homemade tartar sauce is to the commercial version what a home-grilled hamburger is to the drive-up window kind.And it couldn't be simpler to make: Spike a good quality commercial mayonnaise with minced green onions and cornichons and a dab of mustard and there you are.Forget convenience food, this is a convenience feast.Russ Parsons can be reached at [email protected]
Provided by Russ Parsons
Categories MAINS, APPETIZERS, FISH & SHELLFISH
Time 1h
Yield Serves 6
Number Of Ingredients 7
Steps:
- Mix together the flour, salt and pepper to taste in a large bowl.
- If you haven't purchased cleaned crabs, clean them: With kitchen scissors, cut off the "face" about one-fourth inch behind the eyes. Gently probe the opening with the tips of the scissors and, if there is a gray-black sand sac, remove it. Lift the points of the shell on either side and cut away the pale gray finger-shaped gills underneath. Turn the crab over and cut away the loose apron folded underneath. As each crab is finished, put it in the bowl of flour.
- In another large bowl, stir together the eggs and milk until thoroughly blended.
- Turn the crabs in the flour until completely coated. Lift them out and gently shake loose any excess. Turn them in the egg-milk combination until completely coated and then return them to the flour mixture, turning over to coat them again. Gently shake loose any excess flour and arrange the crabs on a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes.
- When almost ready to serve, heat one-fourth to half an inch of oil in the bottom of a heavy skillet. The oil is hot enough when a piece of crust-less bread touched to the surface sends up a rapid, steady stream of bubbles. Place the crabs in the pan, arranging them so the claws are tight against the body. Fry until nicely browned on one side, then turn and fry the other side. This will take about 4 to 5 minutes per side. The oil should be fiercely bubbling the whole time.
- When the crabs are cooked, remove to a baking sheet lined with paper towels or a brown paper sack to drain. Serve each crab with a generous tablespoon of homemade sauce tartare and pass the rest.
LOW CARB SOFT SHELL CRAB
Provided by Maria Emmerich
Time 16m
Yield 2
Number Of Ingredients 4
Steps:
- Heat a cast iron skillet with ½ cup lard or tallow to medium high heat. Pat the crab dry with paper towel. Place the powdered parmesan into a large shallow dish. Place the beaten eggs into another large shallow dish.
- Dip the crab into the eggs and tap, just so the crab has a light coating. Dip into the parmesan and use your hands to coat the crab well.
- Drop 3-4 crabs into the hot oil and cook for 2 minutes, flip and cook another 2 minutes or until crab is cooked through.
- Repeat with remaining crabs.
- While the crab cooks, prepare my Carolina BBQ sauce and serve with delicious crispy crab!
- Best served fresh.
DEEP-FRIED SOFT-SHELL CRAB
Don't be put off by the idea of eating the whole crab. It's tender, slightly salty, and delicious. And the insides look like straight meat after frying with no visible "guts."
Provided by Brian Genest
Categories Seafood
Time 20m
Yield 4
Number Of Ingredients 13
Steps:
- Heat 2 inches oil in a deep pot to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
- Whisk flour, bread crumbs, cornstarch, seafood seasoning, paprika, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and chili powder together in a bowl until evenly combined. Mix milk and eggs together in a separate bowl.
- Dredge each whole crab in the flour mixture, dunk in the egg mixture, then back in the flour mixture to coat.
- Lower crabs carefully into the hot oil. Fry until they start to float, then fry for an additional minute, flipping halfway through. Transfer to a paper towel-lined tray to drain oil. Serve immediately.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 881.6 calories, Carbohydrate 81.1 g, Cholesterol 218.1 mg, Fat 46.7 g, Fiber 4.1 g, Protein 33.5 g, SaturatedFat 8.3 g, Sodium 1304.7 mg, Sugar 4.2 g
MARYLAND FRIED SOFT-SHELL CRABS
Provided by Marian Burros
Categories dinner, appetizer
Time 30m
Yield 2 servings
Number Of Ingredients 6
Steps:
- Wash and clean crabs by cutting off the face just behind the eyes. Lift top of shell and remove the spongy fingers. If the crab is a female (identified by striped markings), remove the back or apron. Rinse and dry.
- Season flour with salt and pepper and mix in baking powder. Dredge crabs in mixture.
- Pour oil into skillet to depth of 1 inch. Heat to 375 degrees. Cook crabs on both sides until brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Drain and serve with lemon wedges and tartar sauce, if desired.
Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 430, UnsaturatedFat 16 grams, Carbohydrate 48 grams, Fat 19 grams, Fiber 2 grams, Protein 16 grams, SaturatedFat 1 gram, Sodium 312 milligrams, Sugar 0 grams, TransFat 0 grams
Tips:
- Choose fresh soft-shell crabs: Look for crabs that are bright green in color and have a firm texture. Avoid crabs that are brown or have a slimy texture.
- Clean the crabs properly: Rinse the crabs under cold water and remove the gills and mouthparts. You can also remove the legs if desired.
- Season the crabs well: Season the crabs with salt, pepper, and your favorite seasonings. You can also add a squeeze of lemon juice or a drizzle of olive oil.
- Preheat the air fryer: Preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius) for 5 minutes.
- Cook the crabs in batches: Cook the crabs in batches to ensure that they cook evenly. Place the crabs in a single layer in the air fryer basket and cook for 5-7 minutes, or until they are golden brown and cooked through.
- Serve immediately: Serve the soft-shell crabs immediately with your favorite dipping sauce.
Conclusion:
Air-fried soft-shell crabs are a delicious and easy-to-make dish that can be enjoyed as an appetizer or main course. They are a great source of protein and omega-3 fatty acids, and they are also low in calories and carbohydrates. By following these tips, you can make sure that your air-fried soft-shell crabs turn out perfect every time.
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