Sometimes it's just a crabby night ...

It's spring time in VA and that means one thing SOFT SHELL CRABS!  Unfortunately Shells doesn't like them (the only type of crab she doesn't like) which means I had to come up with something a little different for her.

The base for tonight's dinner was Avotatoes, sauteed kale & salad.  For Shells I got a couple of crab cakes from Whole Foods and I sauteed them.

For myself I got a couple of fresh, cleaned, soft shell crabs.  At this time of year in the states around the Chesapeake you can find these at any fish market and even a number of grocery stores with fish counters!  Be sure to check that they are cleaned when you buy them, the fishmonger should be able to tell you for sure if they are.

I prefer to sautee the crabs when I cook them, but a deep fryer will work too.  Depending on how hungry you are (and what you're serving them with) you'll want between 2 & 3 crabs per person.

Spicy Soft Shell Crabs (for 2)
4-6 Soft Shell Crabs (cleaned)
1 cup flour
1 egg
1 tbsp garlic pepper
1 tbsp Lawry's seasoning
1 tsp Cayenne pepper
4 tbsp canola oil (or other high heat cooking oil)

Beat the egg in a bowl and put the flour and seasoning on a large plate (mix well with a whisk).  Heat the oil in a large heavy bottom pan until it moves freely around the pan.  One at a time ... coat each crab with flour, bathe in the egg wash & then drag through the flour mixture again, ensuring an even coating.  Depending on the size of your pan cook between 2 & 4 crabs at a time, flipping about 5 minutes in to ensure a crispy fry on both sides.  Once the first set has been flipped, perform the flour coating on the next set to ensure they don't sit in the flour mixture for too long before cooking.

Enjoy!