Soft-Shell Crab Pointers
- Buy live crabs if possible.
- Choose crabs with soft, moist shells.
- Soft-shells are graded by size, measured across the back, tip to tip: Mediums, 3 1/2 to 4 inches; Hotels, 4 to 4 1/2 inches; Primes, 4 1/2 to 5 inches; Jumbos, 5 to 5 1/2 inches; and Whales, 5 1/2 inches or more.
- Have the fishmonger clean the crabs, or do it yourself.