A bit about the soft-shell crab...

From the Chesapeake Bay region, the most coveted crabs in the country, soft-shell blue crabs that have molted and shed their hard shells, are available in direct from local watermen. Soft-shell crab season is traditionally marked by the first full moon in May.

Crabs grow by molting, that is they grow a new, larger body inside their old shells and slough off the old shell. When the new, larger crab emerges from the old shell, it is very soft and vulnerable. During the period they are getting ready to shed, they are known as peelers (real good for fishing bait). Throughout the summer and early fall a crab will, on average, shed its shell six times, each time increasing in width by 25 percent during a life span of 24 to 30 months. The shedding process takes from one to three hours. Soft crabs must be removed from the water quickly or the shell gradually hardens and reduces their quality.

Soft-shell crabs have exquisite flavor because they have fattened up to make it through until they are hard enough to scavenge for food again.

Soft Crabs Direct 101 East Division Street Oxford, MD 21654 410-226-5531