Soft Shell Crab With Preserved Lemon And Almonds Recipes

Steps:

• Season the flour for dredging: mix together flour, cumin, coriander, cayenne, paprika and salt in a shallow bowl. Quickly dip both sides of the crabs in flour mixture and shake off excess.
• Put 4 tablespoons melted butter in a large, wide cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. When butter is hot, carefully put in the crabs, top side down. Cook for about 2 minutes per side, until well crisped and cooked through. Remove crabs to a warmed platter. Sprinkle lightly with salt.
• Add 4 more tablespoons melted butter to pan and add sliced almonds. Stir to coat and cook until lightly browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Add preserved lemon and cilantro and turn off heat.
• Spoon butter sauce over crabs, surround with lemon wedges and serve immediately.

Steps:

• Season the flour with 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Coat the crabs with flour and shake off excess. Heat butter and oil in a large skillet. When hot, add the crabs, shell side down first and saute for about 3 to 4 minutes a side (stand back a bit from skillet as crab will pop and splatter as you saute them.)
• Remove the crabs and keep them warm. Add lime zest, juice and water to the pan. Deglaze the pan by scraping up all the browned particles with a wooden spoon and incorporating them into the lime juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Boil the juices down until syrupy. Set crabs on warmed dinner plates and pour pan juices over them. For fancier occasions, garnish the plate with lemon rounds and sprinkle toasted almonds over the crabs.

Steps:

• In flat dish, combine the milk, salt, pepper and Tabasco. Blend well. Add the crabs, turning them over to coat well with the milk.
• Place the flour in a flat dish and remove the crabs from the milk. Dredge them in the flour. Shake to remove any excess flour.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet. Place six crabs in the pan and cook them over medium heat for about 3 minutes or until lightly browned on one side. Turn and cook until golden brown on the other side. The total cooking time is about 6 or 7 minutes depending on the thickness. Transfer to a warm serving platter and keep warm. Add remaining vegetable oil to pan and repeat the procedure with the other crabs.
• Pour off the fat from the skillet and wipe it clean with paper towels. Add the butter and olive oil, add the shallots and sliced almonds and cook until lightly browned, shaking the pan. When the oil is bubbling, add the lemon juice and pour the mixture over the crabs. Sprinkle with parsley.

Steps:

• Pat the crabs dry with paper towels.
• Heat the butter and oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the crabs backside down and sprinkle with pepper flakes. Cover the crabs with a spatter-proof shield or a lid held at an angle to prevent spattering. Cook for three to four minutes.
• Turn the crabs over and add the almonds. The butter will now be starting to brown. Cook for an additional three minutes, or until the crabs are cooked. Sprinkle with parsley, salt and pepper and serve with the lemon.

Steps:

• Whisk flour, salt, and pepper; place on a dinner plate. Dredge 2 soft-shell crabs in flour mixture, shaking off excess (make sure crabs are completely coated).
• Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a medium sauté pan over medium-high heat. The oil should be very hot but not smoking. Place flour-coated crabs, back side down, in sauté pan; reduce heat to medium if pan starts to smoke. Sauté crabs until golden and crisp, about 3 minutes (do not stand too close to pan; crabs tend to spatter during cooking). Turn crabs over, and cook 2 minutes more.
• Add 1 tablespoon butter and a large pinch of parsley to skillet. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon over crabs. Keep warm in a low oven. Repeat process until all the crabs are cooked.

Steps:

• Place the crabs right side up on a cutting board. Cut off the protruding eyes with a knife. Turn each crab on its back. Remove the triangular shaped apron. Lift the flap on each side, and remove the spongy gill tissue underneath. Rinse the crabs with cold water, and pat them dry with paper towels.
• Place one shrimp in each pocket where the gills were removed.
• Place the crabs in a low dish and add the milk, Tabasco and salt and pepper to taste. Blend well; turn the crabs to coat them with the milk mixture. Drain.
• Place the flour on a flat dish, and carefully dredge the crabs in flour. Shake, and remove any excess.
• Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet that will hold the crabs in one layer. Add the crabs. Cook on one side over medium heat for about 3 to 4 minutes or until the crabs are golden brown. Turn, and cook on the other side until golden brown. The total cooking time should be about 7 to 8 minutes, depending on the thickness. Transfer the crabs to a warm serving plate, and keep warm.
• Pour off the fat from the skillet, and wipe it clean with paper towels. Add the butter, and when melted, add the sliced almonds. Cook, shaking, until the almonds become lightly browned. Add the lemon juice, blend well by shaking the pan, and pour over the crabs. Sprinkle with the parsley, and serve immediately.

Steps:

• Make the coating: in a shallow dish, stir the all the coating ingredients together.
• Remove the feeler underneath the crab shells on both sides; rinse the crab and dry carefully.
• In a big skillet over medium heat, melt the butter with the vegetable oil; add in shallots and saute until lightly softened, about 1 minute.
• Roll the crabs in the flour mixture and place them in the skillet; saute, turning once, for about 3 minutes on each side.
• When they have finished cooking and have turned pink, add the lemon juice, garlic, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste and cook another minute or two.
• Make sure the garlic is cooked but not browned; taste for seasoning.
• Transfer the crabs to individual plates and garnish with lemon and parsley; serve immediately.

Steps:

• In Ziploc bag, add flour and Old Bay seasoning. Seal and shake to mix.
• In bowl, combine eggs and milk.
• Dredge crabs in egg mixture, then add to seasoned flour and shake to coat. Shake off excess when removing from bag.
• Heat 3 T. oil in large saute pan or skillet over medium heat. Add 3 crabs in a single layer and cook for about 3 minutes, then turn and cook for another 3 minutes. The crabs should be nice and golden brown. (Be careful when cooking, because they sometimes will pop and/or spatter.) Remove crabs to serving dish.
• Heat remaining 3 T. oil in pan, then add the next 3 crabs and repeat cooking instructions.
• Do not clean out pan when crabs are removed, but add butter. Let the butter melt and turn a little brown. Add the capers and the wine. Cook for about 1 minute, then add the lemon juice and the parsley. Cook for about 2 more minutes, or until reduced by about a third. Pour sauce over the crabs and serve.