Being from Louisiana I love seafood and nothing is better on the grill.
If you visit you local seafood monger you would discover that there is an abundance of fresh seafood available for grilling. The wide variety is incredible, swordfish and king salmon from the West Coast. King mackerel, wahoo, dolphin and shark from the East Coast.
One of the advantages of being in such close proximity to the Gulf of Mexico is that we are blessed with a plethora of fresh seafood. Jumbo shrimp, tuna, black drum and speckled trout are just a few of the varieties coming out of our warm coastal water.
My favorite ingredient from the Gulf to put on the grill is soft-shell crab. While late summer is the best time to scoop these crustaceans out of the water, they don’t really begin to slow down until the waters cool off. So there is still time to get them fresh.
A blue point crab will shed its hard outer shell every time it goes through a growing spurt. The result is a completely edible crab. The outer crispiness of a grilled crab compliments the delicate flavor of the crab. If soft-shell crabs are not available in your neighborhood the recipe below will work for any seafood.
When making the sauce for topping the grilled crabs be extremely careful you don’t want to break up the jumbo lumps of crabmeat, gently shake the sauté pan instead of stirring.
So break out the charcoal, throw on a few chunks of mesquite or hickory wood and fire it up!
Happy grilling!

Grilled Soft-Shell Crabs with Lump Crabmeat Sauté

4 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon Cajun Seasoning
½ teaspoon dried thyme
2 jumbo soft-shell crabs, cleaned

Sauce:
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon lemon juice
One fourth cup white wine
One half teaspoon Cajun Seasoning
One fourth teaspoon hot sauce
One half pound lump crabmeat

Combine the olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, Cajun seasoning and thyme in a bowl and whip together. Add the crabs and completely coat the crabs with marinade; let sit for 30 minutes turning crabs every 10 minutes. Grill the crabs over hot fire for 5 to 7 minutes on each side. Set aside and keep warm.
To make the sauce, combine the butter, garlic, lemon juice, wine, and Cajun seasoning and hot sauce in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Simmer on low heat for 2 minutes.
Add the crabmeat and gently cook on simmer until thoroughly heated. Be careful not to break up lumps of crabmeat.
To serve, top the grilled crabs with the sauce.

Serves 2