THE BEST SOFTSHELL CRAB SANDWICH

Lightly mix the flour, corn starch, and egg with a fork or chopsticks. It’ll be clumpy. Add the beer slowly and gently mix until the batter is mostly mixed and barely coats the fork. There will be clumps in it, which is fine. Don’t over-mix the batter; it’ll build up gluten and make it stickier than it needs to be. Keep cold until use.

Preheat tallow or frying oil to 375°F. Use enough oil to completely submerge the crab.

Clean the softshells. Use kitchen shears to cut off the face. Next, lift the “points” of the shell to reveal the gills and snip them out. Finally, flip the crab over and cut off the apron. Using a rolling pin, gently but firmly roll over each crab a few times to break up the shell a little bit and release some water. Lightly season with salt and pepper.

Dip the crab into the batter, shaking off any excess. Carefully lower into frying oil. These things spatter like crazy, so be forewarned. If possible, fry outside. Cook for 60 to 90 seconds total, flipping halfway through. You should be able to see the shells turn bright red underneath the batter. Remove from oil and allow to drain on a wire rack.

Assemble your sandwich. Add mayo to the bun, lettuce on the bottom half (it’s mainly there to keep the bun from falling apart), a slice or two of seasoned tomato, and pile on as many softshells as you can. Eat while it's still hot. Repeat as many times as you can during the season because there’s a short window for this perfect ingredient and life's too short to be skimpy with softshells.