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Soft Shell Crabs

markk

By markk
in New York: Cooking & Baking

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Fat Guy

Fat Guy

Posted
Posted

Just to clarify, in case anybody is reading the topic title and gets confused, there is no soft-shell crab season in New York because there are no soft-shell crabs harvested in New York. The season we commonly refer to is the season in Maryland and the Carolinas. However, while the Maryland soft shell season starts in April, I believe it's possible to get fresh soft shell crabs from March through October by utilizing Louisiana suppliers.

I think the reason some may have had bad experiences with frozen soft shells is that a large part of the frozen soft shell supply comes not from the blue crab but from imported mangrove crabs from Asia. They're very similar to the blue crabs, but they're not as good. Whereas, if you get a high-quality frozen domestic soft shell you're going to get pretty damn good results using any cooking method that crisps up the "skin" (basically any method but grilling).

Here's a piece Sam Gugino did on soft shells last year. One thing he notes is that they don't have to be alive, as long as they're fresh.

Steven A. Shaw aka "Fat Guy"
Co-founder, Society for Culinary Arts & Letters, sshaw@egstaff.org
Proud signatory to the eG Ethics code
Director, New Media Studies, International Culinary Center (take my food-blogging course)

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  • 11 months later...
jogoode

jogoode

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Thought I'd bring this thread back. Who's serving great soft shell crabs now? I can't wait to try them at Congee Village and Great NY Noodletown, as recommended upthread. But where can I get a great soft shell crab sandwich?

JJ Goode

Co-author of Serious Barbecue, which is in stores now!

www.jjgoode.com

"For those of you following along, JJ is one of these hummingbird-metabolism types. He weighs something like eleven pounds but he can eat more than me and Jason put together..." -Fat Guy

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bpearis

bpearis

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Thought I'd bring this thread back. Who's serving great soft shell crabs now? I can't wait to try them at Congee Village and Great NY Noodletown, as recommended upthread. But where can I get a great soft shell crab sandwich?

They weren't at NY Noodletown when I was there this weekend. Maybe just a tad early.

Mary's Fish Camp does a mean soft shell crab sandwich.

"If it's me and your granny on bongos, then it's a Fall gig'' -- Mark E. Smith

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SobaAddict70

SobaAddict70

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Roppongi (81st and Amsterdam) serves these deep fried, with a tomato-ginger-yuzu salsa ($9).

Not bad, although I prefer it simply with a squirt of lemon.

Oriental Garden on Elizabeth St in Chinatown offers a selection of crab stir-fried with yellow bean paste, ginger, garlic and onions. I've had Dungeness and soft-shell on two separate occasions.

Soba

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