Soft shell blue crabs are the perfect seasonal food. This ephemeral ingredient is prime for just a few warm months in the Chesapeake Bay region, and we take advantage of it to our fullest potential. They show up for such a short period of time, we eat as many as we can and then have to wait most of a year to enjoy them again. It’s also one of those beautiful ingredients that has a small range of travel- the crabs are delicate and must be kept alive, so it’s rare to source them fresh anywhere that’s not within a short drive to the bay.

For the uninitiated, a soft shell crab is a crab that has shed it’s hard exoskeleton. The hard shell doesn’t grow with the crab, so a couple times a year, the crabs will molt, exposing their new, unhardened shell. During this time, the crabs are incredibly vulnerable to all kinds of predators- humans included. Their movement slows, they can’t swim, and their normally painful claws become soft and pliable. This is also the only time a female crab can mate- she’ll go searching for a big jimmy just before the molt, who will guard her while her shell gradually hardens. 

Blue crabs shed their hard exterior multiple times a year, and there is a short window of time when they are fat, full of meat and entirely edible. It’s pretty rare for us to catch soft crabs, and when it does happen it's always just sheer luck. Luckily, peeler houses hold crabs that are about to molt in tanks and harvest them as soon as they shed their shells.

Even if we could somehow have soft shell blue crabs, fresh, year round, I don't know if we would want that, or enjoy them as much. Knowing that the moment is fleeting, that these flavors and textures are short lived, makes them that much more valuable and enjoyable. Not getting what you want all the time is what makes things so much better when you can. Enjoy the moment, the flavor, the warm weather, smell of saltwater and long days while you can.

We usually keep our soft shells pretty simple- a light batter or breading, some hot oil and a lemony sauce. For this recipe we made an Old Bay mayo and stacked the crabs on a bun with BLT fixins. We used our venison bacon in this round, but any bacon, or no bacon, is fine. 

We like to use a light tempura batter for our soft shell crabs, which is the same one we use for turkey tenders, but any light batter will work. We also prefer to deep fry ours- while you can pan fry them, we find that deep frying produces a more uniform crispness.

Fried Soft Shell Crab BLT Recipe

Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

⅓ cup flour

⅓ cup potato starch

~½ cup water

1 egg

Soft shell crabs

Old Bay mayo (recipe below)

Lettuce

Tomato

Buns

Cooked bacon, thin cut

Method

Mix tempura batter with chopsticks or fork. Stir lightly- overmixing will cause the gluten to bind and create a “doughy” batter. There will be clumps in the batter, this is normal. Keep the batter cold until use.

Preheat frying oil in a high sided pan to 375F.

Right before you plan on cooking the softshells, you’ll need to clean them. This is best done with a pair of scissors- cut the face off the live crabs, then lift the top carapace by the furthest point and cut the gills out at the base. Cut off the abdominal flap. 

Lightly season the crabs with salt and pepper. Dunk the prepped crab into the batter, then give it one shake to remove excess batter and gently lower it into the hot oil. Frying soft shell crabs splatters a lot of oil- use a wire splatter guard if you have one. Either way, watch your eyes. Work in small batches to keep the oil hot. Flip the crabs after about a minute, then cook for another minute or two. Allow to drain on a wire rack or paper towel lined plate.

Assemble the sandwich and serve immediately.

Old Bay Mayo:

½ cup mayo

Juice of 1 lemon

Zest of ½ lemon

2 tsp Old Bay

Combine ingredients and mix well. Store cold. This mayo will last weeks, use it on anything that needs a little Chesapeake Bay flavor.