David Richardson caught his first female blue crab on March 10, an early start to soft-shell crab season in Charleston.
A commercial crabber by trade, Richardson catches Atlantic blue crabs in traps all year long, though springtime in South Carolina is different. That’s when he seeks out juvenile female blue crabs during the peak molting, or shedding, process of their exoskeleton, which creates a soft, edible shell when cooked.
The Charleston area’s temperature reached the 70s in early March, triggering the season's start. But an earlier and longer season doesn’t always mean a prosperous one.
“The crabs are really temperature sensitive,” said Cindy Tarvin of Tarvin Seafood, recalling three 30 degree nights in March that likely slowed some crabs’ molting process. “That’s really why there haven’t been that many and it’s been so slow.”
Tarvin specializes in shrimp and does not claim to be a soft-shell crab expert. But her intuition about this year’s season appears to be spot on, according to Richardson, whose family owns Marvin’s Seafood and a crab peeling operation in Mount Pleasant.
“This year, the water temperature got up really high and that’s what gets the ball rolling,” Richardson said. “The cold draws the season out. It causes a lot of trouble at the peeler shed.”
Blue crabs typically live in tidal creeks, rivers and the harbor. Many crabbers, including Richardson, place a large male crab in the trap, luring the smaller females inside.
The female crabs are caught at their final molt before they reach the full size of maturity. When the lines on the crab’s flippers turn red, Richardson knows they are two to three days from their final molt.
At that point, they are caught and taken to Marvin's Seafood's peeling shed, where they are showered in creek water to help complete the shedding. Crabs are then moved to local restaurants and purveyors.
Richardson said he has encountered less crabs with those striking blood red lines this year compared to 2022, when he caught about 12,000 crabs. Weeks into 2023’s season, Richardson counted just 4,000 caught crabs to his name.
He anticipates the soft-shell crab season will be over shortly after March turns to April.
Brasserie la Banque is offering a soft-shell crab a la meunière with brown butter, sherry vinegar, tarragon and capers. Brasserie la Banque/Provided
That means the sprint to put soft-shell crabs on Charleston restaurant menus is well underway. Brasserie la Banque is offering a soft-shell crab a la meunière with brown butter, sherry vinegar, tarragon and capers, while FIG is serving sautéed softies with warm tartar sauce, spring vegetables and trout roe. Delaney Oyster House recently put a soft-shell crab Carolina Gold rice on its menu.
Many local restaurants are offering soft-shell crabs in sandwich form, including 167 Raw, Edmund's Oast Brewing Co. and NICO Oysters + Seafood. Food trucks and pop-ups like Co-Hog and Kultura have also served soft-shells at recent events.
Social media is often the best place to locate these short-lived specials. Those looking to purchase the crabs for at-home consumption can do so at local purveyors like CudaCo. and Tarvin Seafood, where Cindy Tarvin hopes to offer more than what’s been available through the first few weeks of the season.
Ty Kotz, who owns private dining company Interactive Home Cooking, spoons butter over a soft-shell crab. Paul Cheney/Provided
Ty Kotz, who owns private dining company Interactive Home Cooking, picked up three soft-shell crabs on March 20. The chef who spent 25 years working in New York City’s top fine dining restaurants has a tried-and-true method for cooking the crabs.
He starts by cleaning the crabs before removing the gills and tail flap. Next, he makes a simple slurry with Chucktown Acres eggs and a tablespoon or two of flour. After a dunk in the egg pool, the crabs are coated in Marsh Hen Mill cornmeal and placed in an oiled cast-iron skillet, top side down. After a few minutes, Kotz adds a pat of butter before flipping the crabs and letting them finish in the pan.
For this particular occasion, Kotz planned to serve them on a Martin’s potato bun with lettuce, tomato and a homemade aioli amplified by a Turkish chili called urfa biber.
The preparation is relatively simple, but Kotz cautions home chefs who have yet to cook with soft-shell crabs: beware of spattering hot oil, a result of the moisture that exits the crustaceans during the cooking process.
