Many will not eat hard-shell crabs, considering them indigestible,
and not sufficiently palatable to compensate for the risk they run in
eating them. And it must be owned that they are, at their best, but an
indifferent substitute for the more aristocratic lobster. But in the
morning of life, for him so often renewed, his crabship is a different
creature, and greatly affected by epicures.
Do not keep the crabs over night, as the shells harden in twenty-four
hours. Pull off the spongy substance from the sides and the sand bags.
These are the only portions that are uneatable. Wash well, and wipe
dry. Have ready a pan of seething hot lard or butter, and fry them to a
fine brown. Put a little salt into the lard. The butter will need none.
Send up hot, garnished with parsley.