Tasty Tuesdays! GF Tempura Soft Shell Crab

I hope everyone had a FANTASTIC 4th of July holiday this year.  I was at the lake with friends and it was a great one.  I'm glad to be back to work but it seems like the 3 day weekends are shorter than the 2 day ones!!  As promised, tomorrow's post will be a FAQ about Dr. Wise Formula II Intestinal Calm for Celiac disease.  There were many questions asking for more information, and a post dedicated to that purpose seems to fill the bill.

As I mentioned last week, I love fish and I have what some people might refer to as a fish obsession.  Yes I love to catch them but no I don't stay out all night to do so.  I do love to eat them however and would probably do it 4 times a week if my kids wouldn't get tired of it.  I took another GF cooking class at Michael Fusco's Riverside Grill in Tulsa, OK and the theme this time was fish. There were 3 different entrees and a dessert so we have plenty of delicious posts to look forward to!  I took some more pics at this class than I took at the last one so we have a few more visual aids to go along with your vivid imaginations.

The recipe is as follows:

GF Tempura Soft Shell Crab - Yield - 3 cups

2 - 3 Cleaned Soft Shell Crab Jumbos (If cleaning crabs yourself, see below the frying instructions.)

4 - 6 cups Frying Oil (Use your favorite inexpensive here b/c you won't use it again.)

1 bottle GF beer

1 cup Rice Flour

1 Whole Egg

1 pinch Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Xanthan Gum

Salt & Pepper to taste (Light pinch)

Whisk egg, slowly stream in beer.
Combine and mix all dry ingredients and add to beer mixture until smooth. (This batter is also excellent for chicken strips, shrimp, etc...)

Dreg soft shell crab in seasoned rice flour and dust off excess flour.
Dip into beer batter and pull it out, letting excess fall off.
Frying oil should be 350+ degrees.  365 is a good temp if frying multiple pieces because you will have a temperature drop when you add crab to the oil.
Place in frying oil and fry until golden brown and crab floats.

If you are cleaning the soft shells yourself you want to take the time for a few important tasks.  Remove the egg sac from the bottom if female. Peel back both halves of the upper shell and remove the lungs.  Trim off the eyes with a set of sharp shears.  (Across the width of the crab)

The crabs pictured here are bought and shipped live (never frozen) from the Chesapeake.  Live crab is VERY important to the safety and freshness of the product and you the consumer.  Freezing will expand the cells of the food and change the texture and taste of said product. 

I can tell you that I have never had this particular kind of crab before and it was excellent.  The entire crab is edible and delicious.  The combination of crunchy outside and moist inside was incredible and I look forward to making it for myself at home.  Michael had a great class and I appreciate as always his sharing of GF recipes for all to enjoy.  Lots more info coming this week including a FAQ on Dr. Wise Formula II Intestinal Calm for Celiacs.  Click on the FAQ for the post....You don't want to miss it!!

Enjoy!!

This post is part of the following blog carnivals..........Go check out these great sites!!

Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays

Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
Tuesday Twister
Two for Tuesday
Real Food Wednesday
Gluten Free Wednesdays
Pennywise Platter Thursday
Fight Back Friday