Blackened Soft Shell Crab (final round)

The money shot... 

I have never had a dish that was honestly this spectacular. The flavors were awe inspiring and something that I look forward to when the next soft shell crab season begins.

Poppy's Blackened Soft shell Crab

I served the crab with blackened sea scallops also, 1 crab per person with 8-10 scallops. Your choice, the crab is strong enough as a star on it's own or you can add some sides. Try not to be intimidated by the thought of cooking soft shells this way, it is relatively easy, fast and the results are mouth watering if done correctly. 

Prepped and ready for sauteing

Sauteed and ready to serve

Served with fresh local roasted carrots


Poppy's Blackened Soft Shell Crab

★★★★★

Poppy's Originals

Prep Time: 15 min 

Cook Time: 5-7 min 

Total Time: 20-25 min 

Difficulty: Easy 

Servings: 2-4


INGREDIENTS

2-4 live female soft shell crabs

2-4 (+/-) Tbsp Louisiana (brand) Cajun Blackened Seasoning

2-4 (+/-) Tbsp Black Garlic/Black Truffle EVOO for crab

2-3 (+/-) Tbsp Black Garlic/Black Truffle EVOO for sautéing.

Subs:

Use your favorite Blackened seasoning mix

Use regular EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)

DESCRIPTION

Soft shell crab season is short and you have to be able to change gears quickly to prepare these wonderful morsels of flavor. Finding a reliable fishmonger is your first priority in preparing any seafood.

DIRECTIONS

When sourcing live soft shells, make sure they are still alive.
Look for the crabs with the large red pincher claws, they are females. Look at the genitalia, it is different. The females will usually have egg sacs under the shell, thus adding more flavor to your meal. Once selected keep them cold, on ice, until ready to cook. You can have them cleaned by your fishmonger, or you can do the cleaning before cooking. To clean soft shell crab, remove the head, lung sacs, and genitalia with scissors. Either put up on ice until ready to cook or start the cooking process. Use the live soft shells same day as purchased.

To cook:
Dry the crab on paper towels. Brush both sides with the Black garlic/truffle EVOO. Lay on a plate shell side up and coat the shell/legs with blackened seasoning, enough to cover completely.
Heat remaining EVOO in large skillet on medium heat. Once it starts to smoke add the crabs shell side up (uncovered). Sautee them for 2-4 minutes (depending on size and thickness). Once they start to brown, flip crabs to spiced side and sauté for another 2-4 minutes (uncovered) until they are blackened. Remove from heat and serve shell side up immediately.

Enjoy!

W

P.S. this was my granddaughters choice for her 18th birthday dinner, great choice Rylee!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Asian Chicken Canoes

Image
Okay, they are basically lettuce wraps, but really , don't they look like a canoe ? This is a completely gluten free meal that has been researched and tested. There are also no ingredients that have high fructose corn syrup in them (IBS sufferers). Shallots can be removed if you what a totally low FODMAP rating. I find that I am not bothered by the small amount of shallots in the meal, your choice. The empty canoes This is a somewhat laborious meal in the big picture. The prep for the chicken and the Nuro'c Cham sauce is time consuming. The actual cooking times are short and together all of your efforts will produce an amazing meal. For the meal we will be having the Asian chicken lettuce canoes with various sauce options. On the side will be Asian style rice with Oyster mushrooms and sauteed Daylily Buds ( see previous post ). Empty canoes, Oyster mushroom rice and sauteed Daylily Buds A full canoe w/sauce Ingredients: (2 servings) For the chicken canoes 1/2 lbs. (+/-) finely...
Read more

Daylily Buds.

Image
Yes you heard me right.  I never know what I'll come across that leads me to another cooking adventure. Today's new journey started at our local farmers market this morning. We have been fortunate to become friends with various vendors. One of these is Caleb C. owner of Sasquatch Farms, a local grower of fine produce. Last year he invited us out to tour his farm and see/sample what he grows. That then lead to squash blossoms ( see earlier post ), and now this morning he presented me with a new surprise. "Daylily Buds". At first I was like; " what am I going to do with these ". I'd never heard of them before, let alone think you could cook and eat them. Well guess what? they turned out amazing and were very easy to prepare. Thanks Caleb!  Daylily Buds When I got home the first thing to do was research these interesting looking "Buds" (picked the day before they open into the flower). Doing a basic web search for Daylily Bud recipes, I found a si...
Read more

Happy New Year 2025

Image
  Keeping with our "tradition" of Lobster on New Years Day, I made broiled Lobster tails tonight. The recipe basics are from our friend (thanks Evelyn) and fishmonger. She splits the tails after hand picking them for us, and pulls the meat up and out of the shell. Thus the meat can sit on the shell as it cooks. The arrangement of the tail fins is her idea as it makes them look nice (presentation). Inside the shell I stuffed 3 fresh Meyers lemon tree leaves. Then I sprinkled black truffle sea salt and ground fresh pepper on both sides of the meat. Next I set the shell and tail fins in the pan, laid the tail meat on top and put lemon zest and a good slice of premium butter on top.  Broil in your oven, rack mid level until done (135 degrees internal). Served with lots of melted butter. Sides tonight were broiled fresh local shrimp, cucumber salad, with a dipping sauce (for the shrimp) of Black truffle hot sauce and Ranch dressing mixed into yumminess ... Finished product W
Read more