SOFT SHELL CRABS HAVE A SHORT SEASON, SHOWING UP IN FISH MARKETS IN JUNE AND ALL BUT GONE IN JULY, WHEN THEY MORPH INTO HARD SHELL BLUE CRABS. THEY ARE AMONG MY FAVORITE FOODS. OVER A TEN-DAY VACATION IN NEW ORLEANS, I ATE THEM EVERY DAY; IN PO’ BOYS, SAUTÉED, DEEP-FRIED, YOU NAME IT.
I’VE HAD THEM TEMPURA-STYLE IN JAPANESE RESTAURANTS. IN FACT, I CAN SAFELY BOAST I’D EXHAUSTED MOST SOFT SHELL CRAB RECIPES UNTIL I SCROLLED THROUGH THE N.Y. TIMES ONLINE COOKING AND THERE, LO AND BEHOLD WAS MELISSA’S CLARKS FIENDISHLY SIMPLE VERSION — BROILED. HER RECIPE IS SO RIDICULOUSLY SIMPLE THAT I WAS SURE IT WOULDN’T WORK. SO I TRIED IT OUT FIRST ON MY FAMILY. THE RESULT WERE CRABS WITH CRISP SHELLS AND PLUMP, JUICY BELLIES. SPRINKLED WITH SOME FRESH HERBS AND A SQUEEZE OF LEMON, THEY TASTED OF NOTHING BUT CRAB. MELISSA SERVES THEM ON TOAST. I LAY THEM ON A BED OF LEMON-ZEST-INFUSED ORZO. TAKE YOUR PICK.
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