• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to header navigation
  • Skip to footer navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Display Search Bar
  • About
  • Contact
  • Work With Us
Follow me on Facebook! Follow me on Twitter! Follow me on Pinterest! Follow me on Instagram! Follow me on YouTube! Follow me on Google Plus!

Cooking With Janica

  • Home
  • Recipes
    • Appetizers & Snacks
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
      • Sandwiches
      • Soup
    • Dinner
      • Beef
      • Chicken
      • Pork
      • Seafood
      • Side Dishes
    • Desserts
    • Drinks
      • Cocktails
      • Shots
      • Non-Alcoholic
    • Copycat
    • Instant Pot
    • Fried
    • Dog Treats
  • Videos
You are here: Home / Fried / Nashville Hot Soft-Shell Crab Recipe

Nashville Hot Soft-Shell Crab Recipe

Posted by Jessica Pinney on August 3, 2016, last updated January 27, 2021

Jump To RecipePrint Recipe
  • Share
  • Tweet

A soft shell crab that's been breaded, deep fried, and coated in Nashville hot sauce sits on a piece of white bread. There is a single pickle on top.

Have you tried Nashville Hot Chicken yet?

I got the chance to try it last year when I was following Janette around while she was shooting Food Network’s “Guilty Pleasures”. We had some Hattie B’s in Nashville, it was delicious, but I may be biased because they hooked us all up with some pretty sweet baseball tees!

I’m a baby when it comes to spicy food, but Hatti B’s Nashville Hot Chicken was sooo good I just kept stuffing my face through all the pain. Worth it!

I wanted to bring the “Nashville Hot” flavor to a fried food I’m rather fond of, soft-shell crab. Usually, when you see soft-shell crab it is fried in your standard batter and thrown on a sandwich. While it’s good, there’s not a lot of “oomph” there. Since Nashville Hot chicken has so much “oomph” that both ends of your body will hurt, it seemed like a perfect match.

A deep fried soft shell crab that's been covered in Nashville hot sauce. It's sitting on top of a slice of white bread and has a pickle on top. Another one can be seen in the background.

I used Hattie B’s hot chicken recipe as the basis of this Nashville Hot Soft-Shell Crab. It involves Louisiana style hot sauce (I used this one) and lots and lots of cayenne pepper for the spicy glaze.

This post contains affiliate links (when you buy we make a little money at no cost to you). See our disclosure for more information.

I served the Nashville Hot Crab with the traditional accouterments: white bread and dill pickles. It was so much more delicious than we expected and I plan on making this recipe at least one more time before soft-shell crab season ends!

Two hands are holding up a slice of white bread that has an orange Nashville Hot soft shell crab that's topped with a pickle.

Print

Nashville Hot Soft-Shell Crab Recipe

Nashville Hot Soft-Shell Crab is a fun, seafood twist on the popular southern dish. Serve with white bread and pickles.

  • Author: Jessica Pinney
  • Prep Time: 15 mins
  • Cook Time: 12 mins
  • Total Time: 27 mins
  • Yield: 4 1x
  • Category: Seafood
  • Method: Fried
  • Cuisine: American
Nashville Hot Soft-Shell Crab Recipe. The classic "Nashville hot" glaze on fried soft shell crab.
Print Recipe
★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews

Ingredients

  • 4 Soft-Shell Crabs, cleaned (they will usually do this where you purchase them if you ask)
  • 3 Eggs
  • 1/4 Cup Milk
  • 1 Tablespoon Louisiana Style Hot Sauce
  • 2 Cups Flour
  • 2 Tsp Salt
  • Oil, for frying (I use Canola, Vegetable also works great)
  • 1/2 Cup Lard (I used Butter Crisco), or Butter
  • 3 Tablespoons Cayenne Pepper (Nashville Hot is really hot, if you want a milder version use 1 Tablespoon of Cayenne)
  • 1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar
  • 1/2 tsp Paprika
  • 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
  • 4 Slices of White Bread
  • Dill Pickle Slices

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oil in a deep fryer or a cast iron skillet (3 inches of oil if using skillet) to 360°.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk the milk eggs and hot sauce until combined. In another medium bowl, whisk together the flour and 2 tsp salt.
  3. Rinse the crabs and then pat dry. Dredge the crab in the milk mixture, then dip in the flour. Dip again in the milk mixture, then in the flour once more. Be sure to shake off the excess after each step.
  4. Fry the crabs in small batches. I do 1-2 at a time. Fry them until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes on each side. Remove from the fryer and place on a baking rack over a baking sheet.
  5. To make the hot coating, melt the butter or Crisco in a heatproof bowl. Add the cayenne pepper, brown sugar, 3/4 tsp salt, 1 tsp black pepper, paprika, and garlic powder. Whisk together until well combined.
  6. Baste the hot mixture over each side of the crabs. Garnish with pickles and white bread. Serve immediately.

Nutrition

  • Calories: 417

Did you make this recipe?

Please tag @cookingwithjanica and use #cookingwithjanica on social media. We'd love to see!

Previous Post
Next Post

Reader Interactions

Join the Conversation

    Leave a Comment Cancel reply

    Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  1. Theresa says

    February 26, 2017 at 5:11 am

    Where does the brown sugar come in? That part isn’t in the recipe.

    Reply
    • Jessica Pinney says

      February 26, 2017 at 10:41 am

      It is in the Nashville Hot glaze.

      Reply
  2. Cara says

    December 3, 2019 at 3:59 pm

    This was so good! Really, really spicy but definitely good. We’re hooked!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  3. Sandra Guidroz says

    March 12, 2021 at 11:29 am

    I heard today if you use 1/4 cornstarch mixed with 3/4 flour, they come out really crispy. Haven’t tried it yet but sounds like a plan.

    Reply

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe Via Email

to stay in the loop on new posts!

Browse Around

  • Appetizers & Snacks
  • Breakfast
  • Side Dishes
  • Drinks
  • Chicken
  • Desserts

Popular Posts

A large plastic glass filled with Red Bull Italian Soda. It has distinct layers of raspberry syrup, red bull soda, and cream on top.

Red Bull Italian Soda

Homemade Starbucks Caramel Macchiato Recipe

Starbucks Iced Caramel Macchiato Recipe

Irish Trash Can with Red Bull

Irish Trash Can Recipe

How To Make A Copycat Taco Bell Quesadilla

Copycat Taco Bell Quesadilla Recipe

Best Homemade Pimento Cheese - Pimento Cheese Recipe

Best Pimento Cheese Recipe

Learn how to make wine gummy bears. Recipe for red wine, white wine, and rosé gummy bears.

Wine Gummy Bears Recipe (Red, White, & Rosé)

These 3 ingredient dog treats are easy to make and a favorite of dogs everywhere.

Yogurt Peanut Butter Banana Dog Treats Recipe

Homemade Crunchwrap Supreme

Homemade Crunchwrap Supreme Recipe

Game Day

Overhead shot of a jalapeno popper cheeseball covered in shredded cheddar, diced jalapeños, and chopped bacon

Jalapeno Popper Cheese Ball

Overhead shot of a pan filled with sliced velveeta, pepper jack, jalapenos, onion, rotel, and chorizo

Smoked Queso

Cherry Coke Smoked Pork Shoulder

A close-up of a hand holding a homemade buffalo chicken tender that's been dipped in ranch sauce against a black background

Buffalo Chicken Tenders Recipe

How To Smoke Hamburgers & Hot Dogs

Smoked Hamburgers & Hot Dogs Recipe

Smoked Chicken Wings

Smoked Chicken Wings

Soup

A white soup bowl filled with chipotle watermelon gazpacho. It is garnished with cilantro, a lime wedge, red pepper slices, and diced tomato.

Watermelon Gazpacho

Closeup of a white bowl thats filled with Instant Pot ham and potato soup.

Instant Pot Ham & Potato Soup

Instant Pot Loaded Baked Potato Soup Recipe

Wendys Chili Recipe in Instant Pot

Instant Pot Wendy’s Chili

This Meatless Quinoa Chili recipe is so savory, most people don't even realize it's vegetarian!

Meatless Quinoa Chili Recipe (Vegetarian)

Corn & Crab Chowder topped with Mini Old Bay Potato Chips

Corn & Crab Chowder with Mini Old Bay Chips Recipe

Follow me on Facebook! Follow me on Twitter! Follow me on Pinterest! Follow me on Instagram! Follow me on YouTube! Follow me on Google Plus!
  • About
  • Contact
  • Work With Us
  • Disclosure
Copyright © 2023 Cooking With JanicaTheme by Once Coupled & Melissa Rose Design