Step 1: Surf the longboard all morning on the incoming tide. (Sorry, the only pictures reside in my mind's eye for this step.) Be happy rest of day. Step 2: Return to the beach with the wife in the afternoon. Stop by the local fish market and pick up the meatiest soft shell crab you can find on the way home. (Or find some tidal marsh grass and dip your own) Step 3: Clean out all the nasty bits and rinse crab off Step 4: Dip in eggwash and then in flour/Old Bay mixture to taste. Repeat one times or several. Up to you Step 5: Pan fry in some form of oil until golden brown. In this case leftover oil w/peppercorns previously used for seared tuna Step 6: Transfer crab to paper towels to let some of the oil drain off. In the meanwhile, lightly toast some bread Step 7: Gather accoutrements. The avocado was for the wife's salad, but might not be too bad on one of these. Maybe next time Step 8: Pair with a tasty beverage in your favorite pint glass. Enjoy.
I'm not a soft shell crab fan, but excellent pics and beer! Question, free Harbor Freight scissors? Ha
Thanks. I've enjoyed reading everyone else's food posts here, so I figured I'd contribute. Swellinfo.com: Come for the surf forecasts, stay for the medical and culinary advice.
This made me crack up ... Everyone who works with tools deals with Harbor Freight to varying degrees. I always forget to get the free crap! Usually I'm there when I need something for a one time job, last minute. My HF orbital, which sanded many a ding, died 80% of the way through sanding 14 pine boards (10' 1x12). My HF clamps.... oh man what a ****show. Irwins are expensive but don't skimp on clamps, half those HF f*ckers were broken midway through the same project. I spent a ton of time crabbing as a kid but we never bothered with softshells. As a result it always seemed gross to me. But the idea of just frying the thing up and throwing it on a sandwich is awesome! The reason I don't go crabbing now is cause I'm too lazy to clean fifty blueclaws.
Yeah, some of their stuff is crap, but some are pretty decent quality. I have a bunch of their wrenches and sockets. I have the free tarps, tape measures and some other stuff. But, when I shop there, I know what I am getting.
I was always told, if their dead, their dead, don't eat. If a clam is open even a little bit, don't eat. Others might disagree, who knows, but it's rules I've always lived by.
Under an hour; should have been ok. Try wet seaweed or sea grass to keep them moist and keep them out of the sun. They can live out of water for a day as long as their cool and moist. No fresh water and no sealed containers! I definitely agree with Z on the clams.
If I catch them alive and kickin', and they die in the bucket, I eat them. They didn't suddenly die of a disease or whatever... they died because they've been taken out of the water at got too hot or dried out. I never throw away a dead crab if it was healthy when I took it out of the water, and I'm eating it that day. +1 on the seaweed. Around here, we have sea lettuce, which works great. Clams - nope. If they don't close... even slowly... when you tap them on the counter, toss it. You never know how long it's been dead for.
