CookEat Recipe
Fried Soft-Shell Crabs with Bacon
Flour-coated soft-shell crabs on toast with gently boiled bacon, lemon and parsley.
Method
Steps
Step 1
Use twelve fresh professionally cleaned soft-shell blue crabs from a regulated supplier, with the spongy gills beneath the side points, aprons, mouthparts and any sand removed. Keep refrigerated until cooking, drain and pat dry. Season with the one teaspoon salt and half a teaspoon white pepper, dip lightly in cold pasteurized milk, roll in flour and shake off excess.
Step 2
Prepare a fresh refined canola-oil bath in a suitable deep fryer or deep stable pan, following its safe fill and heating instructions and keeping it below smoking. Fry the crabs in uncrowded batches for about six minutes, until golden, every thick body centre reaches 74°C and the flour coating is fully cooked. Lift with a wire skimmer and drain thoroughly on clean absorbent paper or cloth. Discard used dipping milk and flour.
Step 3
Meanwhile put the six thin raw bacon slices in a small pan of drinking water and boil gently until fully cooked to at least 71°C. Lift out and drain; keep briefly hot. Prepare six fresh plain toasts.
Step 4
Arrange the twelve crabs on the six toasts, two crabs on each toast, and arrange one freshly boiled bacon slice over each pair. Decorate with six lemon quarters and a little washed parsley and serve promptly.
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