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SOFT SHELLS: DRESSED TO GRILL

To prepare soft-shell crabs for grilling, you must remove any hard, tough, or inedible parts. This sounds more distasteful than it is. Think of yourself as a culinary surgeon, and you should do just fine. Although the job can be done with a small, sharp knife it is easier and less messy with scissors.

1. Place the crab on a plate to catch the juices. Snip off the eyes, removing as little of the top shell as possible. Snip off the hard manacles of the mouth on the beige underside of the crab, again removing as little as possible of the tender regions surrounding it.

2. Snip off the “apron” on the underside of the crab. In male crabs the apron is pointed. In female crabs it is shaped like a shield.

3. Flip the crab over so that its red side is facing up, and snip off the spongy, finger-shaped gills that lie under the top “shell” on either side of the crab’s body.

4. Rinse the crabs and pat dry; discard all of the snipped-off parts.

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Photo: Chipotle-Dusted Soft-Shell Crabs with Pineapple-Mint Salsa

Grilled Soft-Shell Crabs with Dill Butter Sauce

Shrimp are easy to grill, lobsters are a little tricky, but crabs are impossible. They can be boiled first to kill them and finished on the grill, but you can always taste the deception. They never attain the fire-branded, concentrated flavor of shellfish cooked completely on the grill. But soft-shell crabs are another story; they can be cooked from start to finish over the fire, which doesn’t take too long—about 5 minutes from start to finish. These are sauced in a classic manner with drawn butter infused with dill.

TIMING

Prep: 20 minutes

(plus 5 minutes for marinade)

Marinate: 10 minutes

Grill: 5 minutes

GRILL TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT

• Clean grill screen

• Long-handled tongs

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THE GRILL

Gas:

Direct heat, medium-high (425° to 450°F)

Clean, oiled grate

Charcoal:

Direct heat, light ash

12-by-12-inch charcoal bed (about 3 dozen coals)

Clean, oiled grate on lowest setting

Wood:

Direct heat, light ash

12-by-12-inch bed, 3 to 4 inches deep

Clean, oiled grate set 2 inches above the fire

INGREDIENTS (MAKES 4 SERVINGS)

8 soft-shell crabs, about 5 ounces each

1 cup Mignonette Marinade and Mop (page 352)

1/3 cup chopped fresh dill leaves

4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Oil for coating grill screen

No-stick spray oil

DIRECTIONS

1. If the crabs have not been “dressed,” you will have to trim them yourself (see “Soft Shells: Dressed to Grill,” facing page).

2. Heat the grill as directed.

3. Put the crabs in a pie plate or other deep dish. Pour

2/3 cup of the mignonette sauce over the crabs and flip them over several times to coat. Refrigerate for at least 10 minutes.

4. Heat the remaining mignonette in a small skillet until boiling; boil until about 2 tablespoons of liquid are left. Add the dill and stir to moisten. Reduce the heat to low and swirl in the butter until completely incorporated. Set aside.

5. Put the grill screen on the grill and coat it with oil. Spray the crabs on both sides with oil and grill for 3 minutes on the red side (top) and 2 minutes on the white side (bottom).

6. Rewarm the butter sauce if necessary (do not allow it to boil), and serve the crabs topped with sauce.

Tea-Smoked Clams and Mussels with Szechwan Mignonette

The acrid smoke from tea leaves seems destined for shellfish, and the cleanest, fastest, most trouble-free place to unite them is under a grill cover. Just throw soaked tea leaves onto the hottest fire you can make, perch some mussels and scallops above, and in a few minutes, the juices inside the shell will start to steam, the shells will pop open, and the tender meat will absorb whiffs of tea smoke and charcoal-grilled flavor. After that, they need only a dip in a bright bath of peppery mignonette to wash off any sand and send them on their way down the gullet.

TIMING

Prep: 10 minutes

(plus 5 minutes for Szechwan salt)

Grill: 12 to 15 minutes

GRILL TOOLS AND