Description
Become skilled at creating perfectly crispy fried crabs with this foolproof recipe that works for both soft-shell and hard-shell varieties.
The recipe will give you golden-brown, crispy fried crabs with a tender interior. You can use either soft-shell crabs or hard-shell varieties to achieve consistent results.
Ingredients
Scale
- 4 crabs (soft-shell or cleaned hard-shell).
- 1 cup all-purpose flour.
- ½ cup milk.
- 1 large egg.
- Salt and pepper to taste.
- Oil for frying.
- Optional seasonings: Old Bay, cayenne pepper, garlic powder.
Instructions
- Clean and prepare your crabs as detailed in the preparation section.
- Mix milk and egg together in a shallow bowl.
- Combine flour with salt and pepper in a separate bowl.
- Heat oil to 365°F and monitor with your thermometer.
- Salt each crab lightly, then:
- Dredge in flour
- Dip in egg mixture
- Coat again with flour
- Place crabs in hot oil carefully and fry them until golden brown, about 1-2 minutes per side.
- Remove crabs and drain them on paper towels.
Notes
– Your breaded crabs should rest 5 minutes before frying so the coating sticks better.
– A splatter screen will protect you from oil burns while frying.
– Fry in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan.
– The oil temperature is right when a pinch of flour sizzles immediately.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Category: Seafood
- Method: Frying