Sautéed Soft Shell Crab with Lemon Pan Butter Sauce (Step-by-Step Recipe for Dummies 101)

I love crabs, so when I saw an ad from Seafood Hero PH selling soft shell crabs – I immediately jumped onto the soft shell crab bandwagon. Soft shell crabs are any crabs that have molted within the last 12 hours. This means the shells are soft and papery, but more importantly, it means you can eat the whole crab (except for some unsavory parts which we will take out) without having to worry about the shell

There are many ways to cook soft shell crab – battered and deep fried is a global favorite, but today I opted to sauté the crab as it’s said that this will better preserve the sweetness of the meat. On top of this, I prepared lemon pan butter sauce, also known as grenobloise which I consider to be the perfect topper to this delicious meal!

 

DELECTABLE FOOD FOR THE DAY: SAUTEED SOFT SHELL CRAB WITH LEMON PAN BUTTER SAUCE

DIFFICULTY: Easy (but it’s time-consuming!)

SERVING SIZE: Good for 5 people (if served with salad)

PREPARATION TIME: 2 hours (cleaning the crabs then sautéing them take a LOT of time)

 

INGREDIENTS

SOFT SHELL CRAB

• 1 kg soft shell crab (around 12 pcs – purchased from Seafood Hero PH)
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp pepper
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 tbsp milk
• Oil for sautéing

 

LEMON PAN BUTTER SAUCE

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 24 pcs of calamansi, juiced (you can also use 4 pcs lemon instead)

 

PROCEDURE:

STEP 1: Clean the crabs

• At least two hours beforehand, bring out the soft shell crabs from the refrigerator/freezer to defrost at room temperature. This is critical. If your crabs aren’t defrosted enough, they can break easily when you handle them (my first few crabs lost a couple of pincers and legs because of this)

• Once defrosted, clean the crabs by rinsing them under running water and gently brushing your hands against all parts of the crab. Since you’ll be eating the entire crab – you want it to be CLEAN. This also serves to defrost any remaining ice on the crab
• With the use of kitchen scissors, trim the eyes. These are the two bulbous black stalks that stretch out from the top of the crab shell. This can be hidden underneath the shell sometimes, so make sure to dig them out. If you see other stalks, trim those as well

• Turn the crab over and remove the apron – this is the triangular flap found at the bottom of the crab. Remove this part in its entirety, but be careful because the fatty mustard (which is super yummy and juicy) is connected to this flap so you want to make sure you don’t end up removing those too

• Turn the crab over once again, and gently lift one side of the crab shell. Here you’ll find the crab gills – generally ~5-6 on each side. While these aren’t toxic per se, they’re quite salty and have a weird texture. You’re better off removing them lest they ruin your soft shell crab meal

• Blot the crab with paper towels in order to remove any excess water. You want to make sure the crabs are as dry as possible before we move on to the next step

STEP 2: Prepare the batter and flour mixture

Why this step is important: A light batter and flour dredging creates a pleasingly crunchy flavored crust on the crab without necessarily weighing it down

• In a bag, place 1 cup all purpose flour, 2 tsp salt, and 2 tsp pepper. Shake well to mix. Afterwards, pour the flour mixture onto a flat plate to make it easier for you to coat the crab later on

• In a bowl, crack 2 eggs and pour in 2 tbsp milk. Beat well and mix

STEP 3: Dredge the crab in the batter and flour mixture

• Grab one crab and dredge the crab in the egg mixture

• Afterwards, toss the crab into the flour mixture and coat thoroughly

STEP 4: Time to sauté the crab

• Heat oil onto your sauté pan. Coat the pan surface thoroughly with oil and set the heat at medium. Careful with the heat settings – if you set it too high, your crabs will start popping which can be quite painful for you if you’re hit with stray oil
• Place the crab carefully, and re-position the legs to be evenly spread so you can get the best crisp. Unfortunately, I’m quite scared of scalding oil, so I just dropped the crabs onto the pan and didn’t bother arranging it (hence the weird shapes). I typically did 4 crabs at a time (dredge in egg and flour, then straight into the pan!)

• I typically start with the underside facing down so I can finish the top of the soft shell last. Once you see the flour mixture start to dissolve and the crab pincers turn red orange, then you know it’s time to flip
• Repeat the same process. Readjust the crab legs if needed. You want to achieve a crisp golden brown coating across your entire crab

• Once done, remove the crab from the pan

STEP 5: Create the lemon pan butter sauce

• Do not clean out the pan once the crabs are removed, but immediately add 1/4 cup of butter into the pan. Let the butter melt.

• Once butters starts turning brown, add 1/2 cup of wine. Stir for ~1 minute

• Afterwards, add the calamansi juice and other seasonings (e.g., salt, pepper, parsley). Swirl to combine all the flavors. Adding calamansi juice to the brown-butter sauce balances the flavor and prevent the butter from over-browning.

• Increase the heat. Once the sauce starts bubbling, turn off the heat and either scoop sauce over your crabs or place onto separate bowl for folks to scoop on their own

STEP 6: Bon Appetit!

I served my soft shell crab with this delectable apple walnut salad with ginger vinaigrette – this combo was heavenly! Highly recommend.