You’ve probably heard the terms hard-shell crab and soft-shell crab bandied about, and might even have thought they were different species of our many-legged friends. Actually, the terms just indicate different stages in the crustaceans’ life cycle. Crabs are invertebrates that sport a rigid exoskeleton that grows in stages between the animal’s molting. The organs and internal tissues don’t stop growing, so if the crab is going to get bigger, it has to shed its old armor for something a little roomier.

It’s this process of molting that holds the key between hard-shell and soft-shell crab. Right after a crab has molted and burst out of its old, hard shell, the animal is vulnerable, with no protection other than a tender shell that quickly hardens. Crab’s captured during this brief period is what we call the soft-shell crabs. Females molt 18 to 20 times in the course of an average lifetime, and males are believed to go through the process 21 to 23 times. The time between molts grows longer the older the crab gets, starting at 10 to 15 days between molts for the little one-inchers, to 30 to 50 days between molts for the bigger guys.

In the culinary world, the difference between soft-shell crabs and hard-shell crabs, is one of flavor and texture. Crabs fatten before molting, which means the meat is salty, sweet, and flavorful. And because the shell is soft, the whole thing is edible. These crabs are much anticipated restaurant favorites, and part of that is because harvesting them is so tricky – timing is everything.

A soft-shell crab must be nabbed right after molting, and only a few hours means the difference between delicacy and lost opportunity. The crabs must be caught just prior to molting (watermen call a crab just a few hours prior to molting a “Rank Peeler” and a crab in the process of molting a “Buster”), and monitored while they molt.

All this waiting and monitoring means a hefty mark-up when they hit the restaurant table, but soft-shell crabs are super easy to prepare, and much cheaper to purchase from an outlet like CrabPlace.com where they ship from dock to door. Traditionally, soft-shell crabs are either fried or sautéed, and served up whole between two slices of bread, but they can also be grilled or broiled — your inner chef’s imagination is the limit!

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Ingredients:

• 6 jumbo soft crabs
• 1 pound backfin crab meat
• 12 Ritz crackers (finely crushed)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Old Bay seafood seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon mustard
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 2 egg whites (lightly beaten)
• flour to coat soft crabs
• peanut oil for frying
• lettuce, lemon and tomato wedges for garnish

Preparation Instructions:

Toss backfin crab meat with cracker crumbs, Old Bay, salt and pepper. Mix together mustard, mayonnaise and egg whites. Add to crab meat and mix lightly. Stuff soft crab cavity with mixture. Pile high enough to make a mound in center of soft crab. Shape with hands. Coat with flour. Brown on back first in about an inch of oil in electric fry pan at 375 degrees. Turn and brown on top side. Remove from oil with large slotted spoon. Drain on paper towels. Serve on lettuce leaf. Garnish with lemon and tomato wedges. Serves 6.

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