I’ve long believed that good food, good eating, is all about risk. Whether we’re talking about unpasteurized Stilton, raw oysters or working for organized crime associates, food, for me, has always been an adventure. –Anthony Bourdain (RIP)
I try to use seasonal ingredients as much as possible so when I saw these little guys at my local market, I knew I had to find a ketogenic way to get them on my dinner plate. Soft shell crabs are blue crabs that have molted their hard shell and are caught for consumption before their shells harden again. Because the shell is soft, the entire little crab is edible. Also, they are only molt like this from about May to September and somehow I always miss the window. So I knew it was now or never.
I asked the nice guy at the fish counter process the crabbies for me and I brought them home, excited to see what I could do to make a fried ketogenic version.
First, I gathered my ingredients:
4 whole soft shell crabs
For the crust:
1 cup pork rinds, crushed into breadcrumb pieces
1 cup finely grated Parmesan
1/4 cup almond flour
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cayanne
1 tsp old bay seasoning
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
For the egg wash:
1 whole egg
1 tsp hot sauce
2 tbsp heavy cream
First, grab ingredients for the crust and mix them together in a shallow dish. I am using a pie dish because it is the perfect size and depth for coating things I want to fry. For this crust, I used mostly Parmesan cheese and pork rinds with some almond flour and seasonings. But this is by no means an absolute crust recipe. I’ve done “breadings” with just cheese or cheese and coconut flour or just pork rinds. You could even eliminate your carbs almost completely by just sauteing the crabs in oil and butter. But this created a thicker crust which was what I was going for.
Next, in a small bowl, beat together an egg, some heavy cream and your favorite hot sauce.
After I mixed up the egg wash, I decided to mix in more hot sauce because your girl loves her some spicy fried food!
Now, put your crab breading assembly line together:
Dip the crabbie into the egg wash and be sure to coat it well on all sides. Then put it in the “breading” and try to cover it all over, including the legs and claws. Repeat for each crab and set them aside.
Heat frying oil over high heat until it reaches about 350 degrees. I used a blend of olive oil and avocado oil.
Once the oil is hot enough, softly add the crabs to the oil. Cover them with a splatter guard if you have one. If you don’t have one, no worries. Just prepare for some spatterage.
Cook them 5 minutes and then CAREFULLY flip them with tongs. Fry for another 5 minutes. Remove them from the pan. Some of the breading might still fall off. Don’t freak out. There should still be lots still stuck to your crabs.
Man, oh man do these look good!
Serve them up with an aioli or tarter sauce. You could make a freaking awesome sandwich with them using keto bread or a lettuce wrap. Or put them on top of some arugula or your go to keto veggie. But my husband and I ate them alone with just a lemon garlic aioli and let me tell you, they were delicious!
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