What is a soft-shell crab exactly?

Since we are having a special on whale-size soft shell crabs in April, I thought I would take a little time and highlight this delicious seafood.

Picking crabs, as most Marylanders know, takes skill and patience. It is an experience – a moment where you relax and catch up with family and friends, wrapped in the scent of Old Bay and beer. For many though (you out-of-towners), the rewards are minuscule in comparison to the hard-work of cracking and picking at the hard shells for hours. Wouldn’t it be great if crabs shared their tender and tasty white meat in an easier fashion (and I don’t mean out of a plastic or tinned container)?

They do - in the form of soft shell crabs.

Since crab shells do not grow with the rest of the crab, they need to be shed, which is called molting. Basically, when the crab outgrows its old shell, it forms a new shell underneath the old one. When it is ready, it cracks the old one and backs out of it. At this time, the crab is extremely vulnerable as the new shell is still soft – thus, the term “soft shell crabs.” It will need to stay submerged in water and away from predators while the new shell hardens, which takes about 72 hours.

Soft shell crabs are usually caught right before molting. Then, as soon as they lose the old shell, they are plucked from the water and shipped live to the restaurant. This is very important in keeping the soft shell soft since the shell cannot harden without water. The quality of the soft shell crab dwindles the longer the timeframe from when the crab sheds to the time it is pulled out of the water. The process happens rather quickly as the crabs can only survive a short time out of water (and it ensures that the soft shell crabs are fresh)!

The number of times a crab molts mainly depends on its sex (females molt less) and age (the older the crab, the less it molts). An average is around 20-23 times per lifetime. The soft shell crab season begins when the weather starts to warm, giving the crab a bigger shell for growing during the summer. New shells are usually around 30% bigger than the body.

Crab meat is a great source of vitamin B-12, protein, zinc, copper, phosphorous, niacin, vitamin E, calcium, vitamin B-6, vitamin B-5, vitamin C, thiamin, magnesium, iron, and essential fatty acids. These are needed for a well-balanced healthy diet.

There is a slight misnomer about crabs being unhealthy because it contains cholesterol. Like most things, cholesterol is bad only if consumed in excess amounts. In fact, we need it for proper hormonal development and brain functionality. If a deficiency in cholesterol occurs, irritability and depression follow. Thus, most health organizations recommend a daily limit of 300mg. Also, some diets that contain too much consumption of saturated fatty acids will suffer from high blood cholesterol (saturated fat causes excess cholesterol production within your body). Crab meat is extremely low on fat, especially saturated fat.

Just FYI as well - a whale-size soft shell crab means that the crab is over 5-1/2 inches across the back. Jumbos are 5 to 5-1/2 inches, and Mediums are 3-1/2 to 4 inches.