Take off the fringe or loose shell found under the side points, also the sand-bag found under the shell under the eyes; wash them quickly, salt and dust with cayenne and roll in salted flour. Have ready some hissing hot butter in a frying-pan, and saute them, turning once to brown the upper side.

Or—

You may roll them in raw egg, then in peppered and salted cracker-dust, and fry them.

If they are not alive when you are ready to use them, throw them away. Keep wrapped in wet moss or sea-weed in the refrigerator until they are needed. A few minutes, uncovered, in a hot kitchen would kill them.

Broiled Soft-Shell Crabs

Have three tablespoonfuls of butter melted in a deep platter and mix with it the juice of half a lemon and a dash of cayenne. Sprinkle salt upon the cleaned crabs, roll them in the butter mixture, drain for a second and dredge well with salted flour. Cook in an oyster broiler over clear coals.

Serve with sauce tartare.

Hard Crabs

Like lobsters, they must be bought alive and killed just before they are cooked. The most merciful method is to plunge them head downward into boiling water. The first plunge kills them. Cook at least half an hour in salted boiling water.