Soft-Shell Crab With Lemon Butter

Ingredients

Coating

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• fresh ground black pepper
• salt
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon paprika

Crab

• 8 soft shelled crabs
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 medium shallot, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 medium garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
• salt
• fresh ground black pepper

Garnish

• lemon slice
• fresh parsley sprig

Directions

1. 1

   Make the coating: in a shallow dish, stir the all the coating ingredients together.

2. 2

   Remove the feeler underneath the crab shells on both sides; rinse the crab and dry carefully.

3. 3

   In a big skillet over medium heat, melt the butter with the vegetable oil; add in shallots and saute until lightly softened, about 1 minute.

4. 4

   Roll the crabs in the flour mixture and place them in the skillet; saute, turning once, for about 3 minutes on each side.

5. 5

   When they have finished cooking and have turned pink, add the lemon juice, garlic, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste and cook another minute or two.

6. 6

   Make sure the garlic is cooked but not browned; taste for seasoning.

7. 7

   Transfer the crabs to individual plates and garnish with lemon and parsley; serve immediately.