Monthly Archives: May 2007

Recipes

Fried Soft-Shell Crabs with Creole Choron Sauce

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My favorite way to serve Soft-Shell Crabs is with Creole Choron Sauce. Actually, this sauce is wonderful with just about any fried seafood.

The most popular way Soft-Shells are prepared in Louisiana is fried, and for good reason, they’re damned good that way. Make sure that your batter is not too thick because the crabs will never get crispy, your batter should be like a thin pancake batter.

Here is the recipe:

Fried Soft-Shell Crabs with Creole Choron Sauce

Peanut Oil for frying
4 – Soft-Shell Crabs, cleaned
1 Recipe Creole Choron Sauce
Lemon wedges
Hot sauce

For the batter:

1/2 Cup All Purpose Flour
1/2 Cup Corn Flour
1/2 tsp Cayenne
1 Tbsp Kosher Salt
Buttermilk, enough to make a batter the consistency of a thin pancake batter.

Combine the dry ingredients, whisk in the buttermilk.

For the seasoned flour:

1 Cup All Purpose Flour
2 Tbsp Kosher Salt
1 tsp Cayenne

Combine all ingredients.

To fry the Soft-Shells:

Heat the peanut oil to 360 degrees F in a Dutch oven. The Dutch oven should be large enough to have the oil about 3-4 inches deep and halfway up the sides of the pot.

When the oil is hot dredge the crabs in the seasoned flour, shaking off any excess, then dipping into the batter. Be sure to completely coat the crabs and let any excess drip off.
Carefully place the crabs into the oil upside down (this will make the claws stand up a bit for presentation.). Fry only two at a time maximum until they are golden brown and they float to the surface.
Be sure to let the oil come back to temperature before frying the next batch.

Drain on paper towels and season with Kosher salt.

Caution – Soft-shells have a tendency to spit hot oil, or pop when the inside liquids heat up, so be careful.

Serve the crabs on a plate covered with the Creole Choron Sauce and with lemon wedges and hot sauce on the table.

Serves 2.

Be sure and check out my ever growing Index of Creole & Cajun Recipes which links to all recipes featured on this site!

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Recipes

Creole Choron Sauce Recipe

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This is my favorite sauce to serve with Fried Soft-Shell Crabs, or any fried seafood for that matter. It’s nothing more than equal parts of Creole Sauce and Hollandaise. Here is the recipe with links to my recipes for both sauces:

Creole Choron Sauce Recipe

1 Cup Hollandaise Sauce
1 Cup Creole Sauce – Dice the vegetables instead of Julienne as the recip indicates.

Whisk together both ingredients. Keep warm in a small bowl sitting in hot water.

Makes 2 Cups.

Be sure and check out my ever growing Index of Creole & Cajun Recipes which links to all of the recipes featured on this site.

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Articles

Soft-Shell Crabs

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I purchased some Soft-Shell Crabs today which I will prepare for dinner tonight, and of course feature as a recipe later tonight or early tomorrow. I only buy soft-shells fresh when they’re in season, I don’t believe in frozen soft-shells personally, it leaves me something to look forward to in the spring.

Soft-Shell Crabs are not a different species of crab as some may believe but simply a Blue Crab, Callinectes sapidus, which has molted. Like many other crustaceans, crabs outgrow their shells and grow new ones. The prime soft-shells are called busters, as they have just busted from their shells and are at peak softness. Not long after the crabs have busted from their shells, the new shells will start to form and have more of a leathery texture.

Soft-shells can be fried, sauteed, broiled, grilled, you name it. Later I will share one of my favorite ways to prepare and serve them, I’m really looking forward to it.

Soft-shell crabs should not be cleaned until shortly before you’re ready to cook them as they will spoil faster.

To clean a Soft-Shell Crab cut off the eyes and nose portion of the front of the crab with kitchen shears. Next, lift the corners of the top shell and remove the inedible gills. Lastly, turn the crab over and remove the Apron which is a soft way of saying the genitals. Sorry, but it is what it is…just remove it. 🙂

Your soft-shells are now ready to be cooked, and so are mine…until later today.

Update – Here is my recipe for Fried Soft-Shell Crabs with Creole Choron Sauce.

Be sure and check out my ever growing Index of Creole & Cajun Recipes which features all of the recipes featured on this site.

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Recipes

Maque Choux Recipe

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From Nola Cuisine Images – (reedited)

Maque Choux (pronounced Mock-shoe) is creamy, rich stewed corn dish that is most certainly Cajun. The trick to good Maque Choux is using very fresh corn so that you can scrape the pulp and milk out of the cobs which will give the dish it’s distinctive creaminess.

I also like to add some Tasso as a seasoning meat for the pleasant smokiness that it adds to the dish. Bacon also works well, and by all means substitute Bacon drippings for the unsalted butter if you like. Here is the recipe:

Maque Choux Recipe

4 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
1/4 cup Tasso, finely diced
3 Ears of Corn
1/2 cup Onion, finely diced
1/4 cup Celery, finely diced
1/2 cup Green Pepper, finely diced
1 Tbsp Fresh Thyme leaves
1/8 cup Garlic, minced
1 Cup Tomato, diced
1/2 Cup Green Onions, finely sliced
Kosher salt, black pepper and Cayenne to taste

Cut the corn off the cobs using a very sharp knife. The trick is to cut about half way through the kernels, then go back and scrape the cobs with your knife to extract all of the milk into a bowl. Reserve the corn milk.

Melt the butter in a two quart sauce pan, add the Tasso and cook on medium-high heat until slightly brown. Add the corn, onion, celery, bell pepper, Thyme and a healthy pinch of salt and reduce the heat to medium. Cook stirring often for about 15 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.

Add the garlic, tomatoes, reserved corn milk and another pinch of salt. Cook for another 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the green onions, salt, black pepper and cayenne to your taste.

Serves 2-3.

Be sure and check out my Index of Creole & Cajun Recipes which provides links to all recipes featured on Nola Cuisine!

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Recipes

Stuffed Mirliton Recipe

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From Nola Cuisine

Mirlitons (pronounced MILL-e-tahn) can be commonly found in grocery stores outside of Louisiana under the alias Chayote squash. In south Louisiana however they can be found hanging on vines just about everywhere. They are hard like a baseball so they need to be cooked for quite some time, and they don’t have much flavor of their own, but they will nicely absorb the flavors you surround them with, in this case, shrimp stuffing. Of course, I had to sneak a little of my latest batch of Andouille into the mix, which added a wonderful smoky flavor. Here is the recipe:

Shrimp Stuffed Mirliton Recipe

2 Large Mirlitons
3 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
1/2 link Andouille Sausage (6-8 oz.), finely diced
1/2 Large Onion, finely diced
1 Rib Celery, finely diced
1 Small Red Bell Pepper, finely diced
1 tsp homemade Creole Seasoning
2 Tbsp Minced Garlic
1/2 lb small raw Shrimp, peeled and chopped
1/2 loaf, day old French Bread, sliced and baked in a 300 degree oven until crispy, but not browned. Ground in a food Processor to make bread crumbs.
1/2 Cup Green Onions, thinly sliced
Kosher salt, Black Pepper and Cayenne to taste

For the Topping, combine the following ingredients:
1/2 Cup of the Bread Crumbs
1/8 Cup finely grated Parmesan Cheese
3 Tbsp Unsalted Butter melted
2 tsp Kosher salt

Cut the Mirlitons in half lengthwise, remove the seeds.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil, season with salt as you would pasta water. Add a few Bay leaves and a bundle of fresh Thyme. When the water comes to a boil add the mirliton halves, and simmer for 45 minutes, or until tender. Cool.

When the mirlitons are cool scoop out most of the pulp, leaving a shell about 1/2 inch thick. Dry the shells by patting with a paper towel. Reserve 1/2 of the the pulp and drain on paper towels, as they hold a lot of water. When dry, chop.

For the stuffing:

In a large cast iron skillet melt the unsalted butter over medium heat, when hot add the andouille. Cook stirring often until slightly browned.
Add the onion, celery and bell pepper and the creole seasoning, cook for 8- 10 minutes stirring often until the onions start to carmelize and the vegetables are soft.
Add the garlic, Mirliton flesh and Thyme, cook for 2 minutes more. Add the shrimp and green onions and cook until the shrimp turn pink. Add 1/2 Cup water (or Shrimp Stock if you have any on hand) and 1 Cup of the bread crumbs. Stir until the mixture comes together. More bread crumbs or water may be needed. The mixture should be thick, yet moist, and it should hold together. Season to taste with salt, pepper and cayenne.

Divide the stuffing amongst the 4 mirliton shells and cover with the topping. Place into a 350 degrees oven until hot and the topping is golden brown. Serve immediately.

Serves 2.

Be sure and visit my ever growing Index of Creole & Cajun Recipes which features all of the recipes on this site.

Related Posts:

Andouille Sausage
Austin Leslie style Creole Stuffed Peppers

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