Fried Crab Claws, sometimes called Fried Crab Fingers or Fried Cocktail Crab Claws, are a quick and easy appetizer or main dish. This simple recipe features blue crab claws soaked in buttermilk, dredged in seasoned corn flour, and deep-fried until golden brown, crispy and delicious.
If you are a seafood fan, I’m sure you have seen these tasty crustaceans on the menu at seafood restaurants or maybe even ordered them, so you know how delectable they are. But, you might not have realized how easy they are to make.
Like my Lemon Pepper Salmon and Blackened Mahi Mahi recipe, with only a few ingredients and twenty minutes, you can have a restaurant-quality appetizer or main dish ready to serve.
Like my Crab Stuffed Shrimp, Southern Blue Crab Cakes, or Easy Deviled Crab, these seafood superstars are perfect for serving as an appetizer, or snack at a backyard barbecue or game-day bash, or even a fun evening with friends.
Serve them with Southern Cheese Grits, Air Fryer Frozen French Fries, or Southern Potato Salad along with my House Salad, or Cucumber and Tomato Salad, and these homemade fried crab claws morph into a fantastic main dish.
Ingredients – here’s what you need:
- Cocktail crab claws – are fully cooked when you buy them packaged. They usually are sold pasteurized in 12 or 16-ounce air-tight containers.
- Buttermilk – coats each piece, adds a slightly tangy flavor, and keeps the breading in place. No buttermilk, no worries! Simply add a tablespoon of lemon juice to whole milk, wait five minutes, and voila, buttermilk!
- Corn flour – makes these tasty bites of seafood as light as a cloud with a pleasing crunch. Even though these days most grocery stores stock twenty kinds of flour, for some reason, where I live, corn flour isn’t one of them. If you can’t find it where you live, the best substitute is equal parts of all-purpose flour and fine cornmeal.
- Creole seasoning – adds a bit of zest and kicks the crust’s flavor into high gear. I like to use Zatarain’s Creole Seasoning, but you can use what you have on hand or substitute a Cajun seasoning blend. Creole seasoning has a bit more heat, but I doubt you will notice the difference in this recipe.
- Kosher salt – enhances all of the flavors and brings everything together.
- Peanut oil – is my oil of choice for deep frying because it has a high smoke point. You can substitute any vegetable oil you have on hand, but do not try to use olive oil.
Directions – here’s how to make this recipe:
- Add the corn flour, Creole seasoning, and salt to a pie plate or shallow dish. Whisk to combine.
- Add the buttermilk to a medium-size bowl and about half of the claws.
- Remove the crab claws from the buttermilk and let any excess drip off. Add them to the corn flour breading mix and toss gently to coat.
- When the pieces are coated, remove them and place them on a plate. Repeat steps two to four with the remaining claws until all are soaked in buttermilk and dredged in the corn flour breading.
- Pour the peanut oil into a 10-inch cast-iron skillet. The oil should be about one-inch deep. Heat the oil over medium-high heat until it reaches 350 degrees F. as measured with a candy or deep-fry thermometer.
- When the oil has reached 350 degrees, carefully add about a dozen crab claws to the hot oil. Stir gently to separate any that stick together and let them cook. Use a spider strainer or slotted spoon and remove the claws when they are light golden brown and crispy. This should only take about a minute.
- Place the fried claws on a paper towel over a wire cooling rack. If the oil temperature drops below 350 degrees, wait until it returns to 350 before adding any more. Repeat this process until all of the pieces are fried.
- Serve immediately with plenty of cocktail, tartar, or remoulade sauce.
Frequently asked questions:
Cocktail crab claws are the claws of a blue crab with part of the shell removed to make them easy to eat. Because the pincers function as a handle, they are easy to eat and these bite-size treats are often served at cocktail parties or at fish fries as finger food.
Eating fried crab claws or fingers is similar to eating an artichoke leaf. Hold the claw by the pincer, gently bite down where the meat begins, slide the pincer and cartilage out of your mouth and enjoy this delicacy!
Cocktail crab claws come from blue crabs found in the Gulf of Mexico and along the Atlantic coast. Blue crabs get their name because of their beautiful blueish-green coloring, and they have a sweet, delicate salty taste that will remind you of the sea.
Stone crabs are also found along the Atlantic and Gulf Coast, but most are harvested in the south Florida Keys. Stone claws are much larger, are brownish with a black tip, and have much more meat per claw. They have a richer flavor, which is more of a cross between lobster and shrimp.
Cocktail crab claws or fingers are fully cooked when purchased, so when they are deep-fried, they only need a minute or so to crisp up and brown the breading.
Fully cooked, pasteurized blue crab crab claws can last several months in the refrigerator if the package has not been opened. However, once opened, they will only last about three days.
Depending on how big they are, you can expect to get anywhere from 60 to 80 bite-size pieces per pound.
Sharon’s tips:
- Leftovers are best reheated in an air-fryer for about three to four minutes at 400 degrees. They can also be reheated in a 400-degree oven for about four to five minutes. I do not recommend reheating in a microwave.
- Want to change up the taste a bit? Substitute Old Bay Seasoning for the Creole seasoning in the breading.
- If you cannot find corn flour, you can substitute equal parts of fine ground cornmeal and all-purpose flour. You can also substitute your favorite purchased fish fry breading mix, panko, or bread crumbs. Keep in mind that the taste and texture will be a bit different.
- In the UK, corn flour is commonly called corn starch, which is different from the corn flour used in this recipe. US corn starch is not a suitable substitute.
- Because this recipe is made with corn flour, which is ground-milled dried corn, the dish is gluten-free.
- While crab claws are delicious when fried, they are also tasty when blackened, sautéed in butter, or cooked on the grill.
- If you are planning to serve this recipe as an appetizer, and you will have other food options available, you can figure on about six pieces per person.
- However, if serving this recipe as the main dish, depending on who will be eating them and what other sides you are offering, you will want to plan on at least a dozen pieces per person. Keep in mind that these are small bite-size pieces.
- The nutritional information shown is based on 6 pieces.
More fried seafood recipes:
If you like seafood as we do, I think you might also like these reader favorites from my blog:
- Southern Crispy Fried Oysters
- Fried Fish
- Crispy Fried Spanish Mackeral Nuggets
- Easy Crispy Pan-Fried Shrimp
- Crispy Fried Grouper
- Pan-Fried Buffalo Shrimp
If you are looking for even more menu suggestions, here is a link to all of my seafood recipes.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ If you make this recipe, please leave a comment and give it a star rating. I would love to know how you liked it!
Thank you so much for visiting Grits and Pinecones!
📋 Recipe:
Want to Save This Recipe?
Enter your email & I’ll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!
By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from Grits and Pinecones.
Quick and Easy Fried Crab Claws
Equipment
- spider strainer or large slotted spoon
- 10-inch cast-iron skillet
- candy or deep-fry thermometer
Ingredients
- 12 ounces blue crab claws sometimes called cocktail crab claws
- 1 ½ cups buttermilk
- 1 ½ cups corn flour
- 1 tablespoon Creole seasoning
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 quart peanut oil
Instructions
- Add the corn flour, Creole seasoning, and salt to a pie plate or shallow dish. Whisk to combine.
- Add the buttermilk to a medium-size bowl and about half of the crab claws.
- Remove the crab claws from the buttermilk and let any excess drip off.
- Add them to the corn flour breading mix and toss gently to coat.
- When the pieces are coated, remove them and place them on a plate. Repeat steps two to four with the remaining claws until all are soaked in buttermilk and dredged in the corn flour breading.
- Pour the peanut oil into a 10-inch cast-iron skillet. The oil should be about one-inch deep. Heat the oil over medium-high heat until it reaches 350 degrees F. as measured with a candy or deep-fry thermometer.
- When the oil has reached 350 degrees, carefully add about a dozen pieces to the hot oil. Stir gently to separate any that stick together and let them cook. Use a spider strainer or slotted spoon and remove the claws when they are light golden brown and crispy. This should only take about a minute.
- Place the fried claws on a paper towel over a wire cooling rack. If the oil temperature drops below 350 degrees, wait until it returns to 350 before adding any more. Repeat this process until all of the pieces are fried and serve immediately.
Leave a Reply