I received a phone call from one of my food spies the other day.
I expect this particular call every year, but never this early. Soft-shell crabs from the Chesapeake are in the market already. I usually don't expect to see them until at least two weeks from now.
I love soft-shell crabs — not just because they're delicious, but because they are a harbinger of better weather to come. If soft shells are here, how far away can shad and striped bass be?
The season begins in Virginia and ends a month or two later in Maryland and Delaware. It crawls slowly, sideways, north among the eel grass and oyster shells and the black, rich muck covering the backwater bottoms of Chesapeake Bay. This is the time of the year when sweet blue crabs move in from deeper water to molt and mate, supplying predators like us with one of the most delicious seasonal treats imaginable.
The males are called Jimmys, the females, she-crabs. They are equally delicious grilled, fried or sautéed served on delicate little buttered toast points, a feathery cushion of baby lettuce or on an all American hamburger bun slathered in tartar sauce.
Soft-shell crabs, like lobster, are best when prepared still alive. They are very delicate, temperature sensitive and difficult to keep that way. You are unlikely to find fresh soft-shell crabs in markets any distance from where they are harvested. Do not buy frozen soft shells. They loose a delicious albumin when thawed and it is that flavorful substance which jells when cooked, making soft shells moist and delicate. Save your soft-shell eating for your favorite restaurant where you know they serve them fresh. If you are lucky enough to find them in a market ask the fishmonger how to clean them. I don't want to go into it here. The task is better demonstrated than explained. I don't want to discourage anyone from trying them for the first time.
I was introduced to soft-shell crabs by a restaurateur named Lady Lockwood in 1979. Since then, I have convinced hundreds of people who have never tried a softie, which is eaten shell and all, to do so, and I can honestly say not one has ever regretted the experience.
My favorite recipe for soft-shell crab is the most simple. Dredge the crabs, two or three to a serving depending on size, in flour seasoned only with salt and pepper. Sauté them in butter over medium heat, so as not to burn the butter, until the crabs are chestnut brown, crisp and firm to the touch. If you are not sure the crabs are cooked thoroughly, put the pan in a 400-degree oven for five minutes but don't overcook them.
Place the crabs on white toast points, squeeze a lemon into the cooking pan and deglaze the pan with dry white wine. Reduce the wine and butter sauce to a syrup and pour it over the crabs. Serve it with an additional wedge of lemon. You could drink a good white burgundy or Bordeaux blanc with this simple but very elegant dish. A California sauvignon blanc would also be lovely. Over the years, I've grown fond of chablis, a dry, crisp wine from the northern most tip of Burgundy. It grows from soil laced with fossilized shell left from some ancient inland sea. The wine tastes of minerals left from the same ancient sea bottoms that crabs occupy. I'd have mine no other way.
Fresh soft-shell crabs have a delicious nutty character to their flavor. Grind either pecans or almonds in a food processor, mix them with the seasoned flour and dredge the crabs in the nut mixture. Sauté them the same way, serve on a bed of baby greens, but when you deglaze the pan, add just a hint of honey to the lemon wine mix, reduce it and pour it over the crabs and greens. One makes a regal lunch, two a royal dinner. Drink an American or Australian chardonnay with some finesse and a little oak, but not too much. Tell your local wine merchant or restaurant wine steward what you are looking for and I'm sure you will enjoy the match. There are some great bargains out there in chardonnay land or you can mortgage the house depending on the occasion.
I fry soft-shell crabs two ways. The first is crab tempura. Simply coat the crabs, small ones are best for this dish, in tempura batter — recipes are easy to find — and deep fry in a wok or deep fryer at 325-350 degrees until they are a light caramel brown.
Serve it with fine julienne carrot and daikon radish and a dipping sauce made with soy sauce, honey, a little sambal olek (Vietnamese red pepper puree) or any combination of Asian sauces you like. Make it a little sweet but with some heat. Break out your best ivory chopsticks, ignore them, then pull the crab apart and eat it with your fingers. Drink Riesling. Alsace or German Kabinett style is best. Good dry Riesling from Australia is increasingly available and often a bargain
Finally, try a simple crab fry. Dredge the crab first in flour with Old Bay Seasoning, dip it in egg wash, half egg-half milk, then into fine bread crumbs. Deep fry it at 350 degrees until it's good and brown and sweet and crisp. Squeeze on some lemon then eat it with tartar sauce, plain or on a toasted sandwich roll. Drink a cold beer.
Enjoy.
Jack Felber is a regular Times columnist. He and his wife, Marcia Felber, are proprietors of The Olympia Tea Room, a Wine Spectator-recognized harborside restaurant in Watch Hill, R.I. Jack can be reached at jack@olympiatearoom.com
