Gluten Free Fried Soft Shell Crabs

One of the best things about living on the "Shore", especially in the summer months, was the abundance and easy access to seafood...especially Blue Crabs. We were in walking distance to many bridges, river banks and miles upon miles of marshland. All we needed was string, chicken backs, a dip net, a basket and plenty of mosquito repellant to go "Crabbin". While it was good for hard shells, it didn't really help if we were a lot of soft shell crabs. If we were lucky enough we would catch a "doubler" or two. Simply put, a "doubler" is two crabs...a male carrying a female underneath him. If that's the case...chances are, she was a soft shell . If he is carrying her on top...that usually means she is a "peeler".

One method to catching soft shells was the time-honored tradition of "scapping"(some also called it (scraping). This is the most basic of all crabbing methods. All you needed was a long handled dip net (scap net) and wade through the water looking for crabs among the eelgrass. Because they can't swim very fast while molting (shedding), crabs prefer shallow water so they can hide in the grass away from predators.

The two ingredients in this recipe that contain gluten are flour and bread crumbs. I prefer Bob's Red Mill all purpose flour, but any gluten free flour will suffice. I have no preference to what gluten free bread crumb top use; and if you are lucky enough to have a Whole Foods, Trader Joe's or similar grocery store in the area, you will have several brands to choose from.These days, gluten free flours have evolved, taking away the need to add things such as xanthan gum. Wheat in regular flour acts as a binding agent. Since the gluten found in wheat must be omitted, xanthan gum is used to give the dough or batter a "stickiness" that would otherwise be achieved with the gluten.

If you want to learn more about cooking with gluten free flours, visit

http://www.pccnaturalmarkets.com/guides/tips_gluten_free.html

Gluten Free Fried Soft Shell Crabs

Ingredients

16 Soft Shell Crabs
1 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. onion powder
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1 cup Bob's Red Mill All Purpose gluten free flour
3 large eggs (beaten)
2 cups Bob's Red Mill GF bread crumbs
Virgin Olive Oil for frying (Regular cooking oil is ok)

Pre Preparation:

Clean soft shell crabs. Do not remove top shell.
Rinse well in cool water.
Place crabs on a large cookie sheet
Season with the salt, pepper, lemon juice, soy sauce, garlic power and onion powder.
Place in refrigerator and allow to chill for two hours.

Preparation

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Place flour in a medium sized bowl, eggs in another, and bread crumbs in a third bowl.
Dredge each crab in the flour, dip in the eggs, and then coat with the bread crumbs.
Heat a large, deep skillet with one inch of the olive oil.
Saute' each crab on one side for 4-5 minutes, turn and continue until each crab is crispy.
Place browned crabs in oven for 9 minutes until crispy.