Soft Shell Crabs

[pocofan]

Soft shell crabs are delicious. I’ve tried to make them and it didn’t go well. So I go somewhere and have them when they are available. Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas coastal areas have them from time to time.

 

[Mountain Cat]

the natural range of blue claw crabs = Callinectes sapidus is the west edge of the Atlantic - Cape Cod south to Argentina.

as a long time mid-Atlantic resident I have heard essentially no references to "New England crab (anything)"
clams, lobsters . . . yes.
and their natural range does not put them very far into "New England" enough to support the 'famous' tag.

of recent, they have been found in the Boston area - which some attribute to global warming....

also to note: apparently they have been introduced in Asia and Europe.

the Asian "swimming crab" (Portunus armatus formerly Portunus pelagicus) is not the same as the blue claw crab, and does not taste like a blue claw crab either. when buying canned crab meats, the variety is usually specified in the fine print; I do not buy swimming crab simply because it's just not good, to my taste.

I hadn't even noticed this thread until now!

Bought a couple crabs on two occasions this late April/early May. I figured I'd get the second batch because I didn't get any in 2020 - oh, well, who am I kidding? I got the second couple because, like Mount Everest, they were still there....

The recipes have actually been posted here, as well as a lightly almond-floured recipe from some years back. Three soft shelled crab recipes posted, and I entirely missed this thread!

New England crabs: They just aren't as popular as other types of shellfish and crustaceans in New England; yes, they simply were smaller, and people weren't as interested in them. Back in the 70s, when we vacationed as a family in Maine, Mom used to buy the crab by-catch from lobster pots, for 1 dollar a basket. They're smaller than further down the Atlantic coast, and because we were there in summer, they'd already developed hard shells. While some locals there would pick and sell the crab meat, this was a tedious job, and there was neither much demand for the price that this shelled meat cost, nor for being employed to do so.

Mom didn't mind shelling her own crabs. (She looked at the rest of us, and said "If you want some, you shell your OWN!") She saved hers up for crabmeat salads. I did this occasionally, but being an impatient teen at the time, not very often. (I did however collect a ton of mussels to eat from the prolific rocky Maine coastline. Steamer clams were fine to clam for, too.)

So that, in a crabshell, defines why crabs aren't associated with New England (well, maybe with some crabby people, hopefully not myself...)

 

[Mountain Cat]

You can buy them frozen as well, but they are more difficult, time consuming to prepare that way. They need to be defrosted, then placed between paper towels and weighted to get all the excess moisture out from the freezing and cell wall breakage. Otherwise, they won't get crisp. Still not as good as live.

Spoiler: Warning, cleaning method

to clean, you have to cut their faces out and clean out the lungs.

This year's batch. I had the fishmonger clean my first two. When I went back I decided to get them as-was. I ended up not cleaning them (sort of like not washing my quinoa), and they were perfectly fine. The lungs are edible and just look like some orange goop.

I took a closer look at some of those web sites offing soft shell blue crabs.

There are some things to watch out for ....

1) Some of the sites are offering soft shell crabs that are already cooked.
2) Some of the sites are offering soft shell crabs that are not blue crabs.

NOTE: The blue crab is a lighter and more delicate soft shell and more flavorful.

3) Some of the sites are offering crabs that are imports, from who knows where.
4) Some of the sites are gouging for more money than the crabs are worth.
5) Most sites charge nearly $40 USD to ship, because they must ship in special dry ice boxes, no less than 2 day air. If you live close to their location on the US east coast, it is possible to ship ground, but for the most part, expect a 2 day air shipping charge so that you get your crabs pronto and can get them into the freezer.

NOTE: Soft shell crab products have a 2 week refrigerator life and a 4 month freezer life. After that, quality is lost and possibly, they may need to be tossed. Quick shipping is essential.

NOTE: If you really do your research, there are one or two sites offering free shipping, but doing that to bait folks for higher product charges.


While I was looking around for soft shelled blue cab sources, I also looked for New Zealand green lipped mussles and alligator steaks. Both can be sourced online and are available to be shipped 2 day air at similar charges which go up, the more Lbs. of stuff you get.

Soft shelled crabs and other stuff is actually available through Amazon.com and e-Bay.

Yes, i don't think they freeze well, very watery and diluted of taste, except for something verging on "oldish".

Two weeks of refrigerator life???? No, no, no. Five days max.

I've gone to Connecticut a lot for business, around New Haven. When the weather is right, I head to a bar/restaurant on the water, and order a big load of steamed clams. My favorites are little necks. You have to find a good place that purges their clams, unless you like sand with your clams. New England clam chowder (pronounced "chow-dah") made with clams caught that day is also awesome.

As for lobster (pronounced Lawb-stah" up there), I actually prefer Caribbean spiny lobster -- you can get those in Florida, for sure. I'm also not a fan of lobster rolls.

CD

Rhode Island also has excellent shellfish and crustaceans. Try Champlin's at Point Judith. Prices are very affordable, too, being right at a source of things. You can also buy fish you can pack in ice and drive home with. (I wouldn't recommend it for carry on luggage for a plane trip, however....) Of course this is not close to New Haven, CT.

I prefer New England lobster, but then I have only had Caribbean lobster tail once, and I think it had gone bad. You know, probably frozen in transit to Connecticut. Watery and tasteless.

I prefer to have my New England lobster steamed, messily pulled apart at a table outdoors with melted butter seasoned with garlic powder and a hint of hot sauce - and not in a roll, but if I have a roll, it will be the style without mayo.

 

[medtran49]

This year's batch. I had the fishmonger clean my first two. When I went back I decided to get them as-was. I ended up not cleaning them (sort of like not washing my quinoa), and they were perfectly fine. The lungs are edible and just look like some orange goop.



Yes, i don't think they freeze well, very watery and diluted of taste, except for something verging on "oldish".

Two weeks of refrigerator life???? No, no, no. Five days max.



Rhode Island also has excellent shellfish and crustaceans. Try Champlin's at Point Judith. Prices are very affordable, too, being right at a source of things. You can also buy fish you can pack in ice and drive home with. (I wouldn't recommend it for carry on luggage for a plane trip, however....) Of course this is not close to New Haven, CT.

I prefer New England lobster, but then I have only had Caribbean lobster tail once, and I think it had gone bad. You know, probably frozen in transit to Connecticut. Watery and tasteless.

I prefer to have my New England lobster steamed, messily pulled apart at a table outdoors with melted butter seasoned with garlic powder and a hint of hot sauce - and not in a roll, but if I have a roll, it will be the style without mayo.

Sorry, I prefer mine cleaned, don't want to eat the face part or the lungs.

Like I wrote earlier, you have to place frozen ones between paper towels and weight them, letting them sit for a while, to get the excess moisture out. Even then, the frozen still aren't going to be as good as live.

Same thing as with scallops. You have to paper towel and lightly weight frozen ones to even hope to get a decent sear on them.

 

[CraigC]

This year's batch. I had the fishmonger clean my first two. When I went back I decided to get them as-was. I ended up not cleaning them (sort of like not washing my quinoa), and they were perfectly fine. The lungs are edible and just look like some orange goop.



Yes, i don't think they freeze well, very watery and diluted of taste, except for something verging on "oldish".

Two weeks of refrigerator life???? No, no, no. Five days max.



Rhode Island also has excellent shellfish and crustaceans. Try Champlin's at Point Judith. Prices are very affordable, too, being right at a source of things. You can also buy fish you can pack in ice and drive home with. (I wouldn't recommend it for carry on luggage for a plane trip, however....) Of course this is not close to New Haven, CT.

I prefer New England lobster, but then I have only had Caribbean lobster tail once, and I think it had gone bad. You know, probably frozen in transit to Connecticut. Watery and tasteless.

I prefer to have my New England lobster steamed, messily pulled apart at a table outdoors with melted butter seasoned with garlic powder and a hint of hot sauce - and not in a roll, but if I have a roll, it will be the style without mayo.

The gills are gray. The orange stuff is probably eggs that hadn't dropped yet.

 

[flyinglentris]

I just received a freezer box containing a dozen Maryland soft shell blue crabs, 2 abalone steaks, 1 lb. of huge King crab legs and 2 lbs. of Manila clams in the shells. I add this to a Maine lobster tail and about 1 lb. of tiger prawns I got from the local grocery store. But I forgot to include the finger limes in my order that just arrived.