Most people don't know the difference between a good softshell crab and a poor one. These things are usually fried or deep fried and any cook can mask a poor softshell crab with flour.So, let's get you educated. The main difference lies in how the softshell crab is molted. All softshells are harvested immediately after it molts (sheds its old shell) when it outgrows its old shell and the new shell is soft like a skin




The best softshells are molted under natural conditions. (Farmers have about 2 hours to harvest the crab before the shell turns hard.) Such softshell crabs have full meat within their softshells. Usually these naturally molted shells also feed on small live fish in their ponds and so the meat also taste good



Softshells that have their limbs plucked out to hasten the molting have usually not grown full in their shells, and you'll find that they are hollow or have much less meat within their soft shells. Also, these are usually kept in small tanks and fed pellets and so the taste is poor



Having told you how to tell a good softshell from a poor one, you can be sure that the softshell crabs we have on OosterBay are the quality ones. Deep fried, fried, or served as tempura, our softshells are full of meat of quality texture and taste