Softshell Crabs

When the waters of the Chesapeake Bay warm up in late April and early May, blue crabs crawl out of the mud where they've spent the winter and, having grown too big for their shells, promptly begin to molt. Fishermen who catch them at this crucial juncture put the crabs in tanks in order to monitor the molting process; when the crabs have completely shed their hard outer shells, they are shipped to market wearing only a thin, edible covering and still very much alive. Once they reach their destination they should be consumed within four days, before they begin to rebuild their hard shells.