Slice of Heaven

Local Flavor!

Eric's friend, Josh, is at our house this week during the day. The boys are having a great time being boys....mostly they have either been fishing or in the pool. Either way, I try to keep them outside as much as possible! This morning, they went down to the water first thing. Below is the treasure that they caught! A soft shell...and a huge male at that! He was a full 8" across from tip to tip! If you don't know much about soft shells, they are very hard to find. When a blue crab molts (loses its shell) every so often (usually around the full moon) he has a new "soft" shell underneath. He is not in this stage for very long, for it hardens quickly, within hours. However they are very vulnerable (as you can imagine) while their shells are soft. They cannot use their pincers and move very slowly if at all. Usually they bury themselves in the soft mud to hide until they harden. So to find one soft and catch it is rare. Once you get it out of the water, you must immediately wrap it in a moist paper towel and place in the refrigerator until you are ready to cook it. This keeps the shell soft and keeps the crab alive in a dormant state. Again, you need to cook it rather soon for best flavor and to keep it from dying.

So, we prepared it and cooked it for lunch. Preparing involves essentially lifting the shell to remove the gills and cutting out the face with a knife. Then you heat some butter in a heavy pan, and fry it on both sides till the legs are crispy and it has turned a nice shade of red. A little salt and pepper and Old Bay are all that is necessary to flavor it.

The end product is a delicacy not for the faint of heart or stomach! Out of my family, only myself and Leah will eat it. My mom loves them as well. And for our newcomer, Josh, he ate a leg and a bit of the body! Very brave young man! In case you are wondering, you eat the whole thing at this point...shell and all! It is crunchy on the outside and meaty and delicious on the inside. I hope you are not grossed out at this point...but if you are, don't feel badly, that just means more for me!!!