Recipe: Fried Soft-Shell Crab With Radish Salad From Mike Lata

Cook these crustaceans before they crawl away

Mike Lata of FIG and The Ordinary knows his way around seafood-especially live soft-shell crabs, which are now in season. Lata keeps things simple, dredging them in a mix of cornmeal and Old Bay before panfrying them in a whole lot of butter. He serves the crisp, golden crabs with an herb salad that he refers to as a "deconstructed tartar sauce" made with cornichons, parsley, scallions and shallots.

To learn more, read "The Soft-Shell Hard Sell."

Recipe adapted from Mike Lata, The Ordinary and FIG, Charleston, SC

Soft-Shell Crabs With Radish Salad
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Learn how to make chef Mike Lata's soft-shell crabs with radish salad.
Prep Time
20
minutes
Cook Time
5
minutes
Servings
4
servings
Total time: 25 minutes
Ingredients
  • For the Soft-Shell Crabs
  • 1 cup cornmeal
  • 2 teaspoons Old Bay
  • 4 soft-shell crabs
  • 6 tablespoons butter, divided
  • Kosher salt, to taste
  • For the Radish Salad
  • 12 cornichons, sliced lengthwise
  • 6 radishes, thinly sliced
  • 2 cups flat-leaf parsley
  • 2 scallions, thinly sliced
  • 1 small shallot, very thinly sliced
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • Kosher salt, to taste
Directions
  1. Make the soft-shell crabs: In a mixing bowl, whisk together the cornmeal and Old Bay.
  2. Lightly dredge the soft-shell crabs in the cornmeal mixture and set aside.
  3. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt half of the butter. When the butter begins to foam, working in 2 batches, fry the crabs, belly-side down. Cook, swirling the pan often, until the crabs are golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip the crabs, turn the heat down to medium and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Repeat with the remaining 2 crabs.
  4. Transfer the crabs to a paper towel-lined plate to drain and season with salt while they're still hot.
  5. In a medium bowl, toss the cornichons, radishes, parsley, scallions, shallots, lemon juice and olive oil. Season with salt.
  6. Divide the soft-shell crabs and radish salad among 4 plates and serve.
Nutrition
Calories per Serving 367
Total Fat 20.9 g
Saturated Fat 11.5 g
Trans Fat 0.7 g
Cholesterol 62.2 mg
Total Carbohydrates 37.7 g
Dietary Fiber 4.0 g
Total Sugars 2.8 g
Sodium 462.5 mg
Protein 8.4 g
The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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