4 Soft Shell Crabs*
1 bulb garlic (separated into cloves & crushed)
1/2 cup flour- seasoned with salt, pepper, dried oregano & dried parsley
Oil for sautéing
Directions
To clean crabs: Warning - this is sorta goulish!
With a sharp scissors or knife, snip off the "face" of the crab, from behind the eyes. (yuck!). This will kill
the crab instantly. (or so they say - I just don't try to think about it...) Flip the crab over and you will see a triangular "tail" piece folded up against the body of the crab. Unfold it and
snip it off, too. Turn the crab right side up and unfold each of the sides. You will see 4 or 5 fat stringy things. Remove these either with your scissors or your hands. There will be yellowish stuff
coming out of the crab, try to squeeze out as much as possible as this is very bitter and fishy tasting. (if you don't get it all, it will start to seep out while you are cooking them so you can
get the rest then). Now for the really nasty part.... the crabs may still twitch after you have finished preparing them (AHHHHHH!!!!!!!) It's kinda gross, but like I said, try to ignore it. "That's
easy for you to say" says the twitching crab ;-) OK Onto the preparation:
Dredge the crabs in the seasoned flour. Heat some of the oil in your frypan and sauté the garlic. Place your
crabs in the pan and start to sauté. You will need to add a bit more oil at this point as the flour on the crab will suck it all up. Sauté for about 10-15 minutes, turning them often. By the time they
are done you should have very little or no oil left in the pan and the crabs should be covered with garlic and flour scrapings.
*Soft shell crabs are actually blue crabs that have shed their
shells and are preparing to grow new ones.