INGREDIENTS
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 small (4-inch-wide) live soft-shelled crabs, cleaned
1 cup Wondra or all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons clarified butter
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 3 pieces
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
DIRECTIONS
Combine milk, salt and pepper in a shallow dish and soak crabs 5 minutes. Lift 1 crab out of milk, letting excess drip off, and dredge in flour. Knock off excess flour and transfer to a tray. Repeat with remaining crabs, arranging them in 1 layer as coated.
Heat clarified butter in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté crabs, upside down, 2 minutes. Turn over and sauté until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes more.
Transfer crabs to a serving dish. Add butter pieces to skillet and cook until golden brown with a nutty aroma. Add lemon juice and parsley (mixture will bubble up) and remove from heat.
Season sauce with salt and pepper and drizzle over crabs.
Note:
If the crabs you get are larger and don’t fit 4 to the skillet, cook them in batches using more clarified butter.
