Chez Marcelle's Stuffed Soft-Shell Crabs

Ingredients

• 1 bunch green onions
• finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic
• minced
• 1 pound lump crab meat
• 1 pound shrimp
• ground
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 3 ounces diced pimentos
• 1/2 pound chopped mushrooms
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
• Salt to taste
• 2 1/4 cups stale bread crumbs
• 10 jumbo soft-shell crabs
• gills removed
• 3 egg yolks
• lightly beaten
• Flour for dredging seasoned with salt
• red and white pepper
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 2 beaten eggs
• Cracker meal
• 1 quart peanut oil
• Lemon wedges and fried parsley for garnish

Instructions

1. Cook green onions, garlic, crab and shrimp in white wine about three minutes.
2. Add pimentos, mushrooms, cayenne, white pepper and salt and bread crumbs and cook a minute or two longer.
3. Stir in yolks.
4. Chill stuffing for about 1 hour, until firm.
5. Carefully stuff each side cavity of crabs with mixture.
6. Season crabs with salt, white pepper and cayenne.
7. Dredge in flour; dip in a mixture of buttermilk and eggs, then in cracker meal, breading each leg individually.
8. Heat oil in deep pot to 375 degrees.
9. Deep fry a few crabs at a time until golden brown on both sides.
10. Serve crabs with Creolaise sauce.
11. Garnish with lemon and fried parsley.