Tempura Stone Crabs with Lemon, Black Pepper Tartar Sauce

Ingredients

1 beaten egg
2/3 cup flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 cup cold soda water
1 teaspoon salt
2 dozen Florida stone crabs, with shell cracked, removed and meat exposed
Oil for frying
Tartar sauce:
1 egg
Juice of one lemon
Juice of one lime
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/4 cup minced onions
2 teaspoons black pepper
1 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper

Instructions

Preheat the fryer. In a mixing bowl, whisk the egg, flour, cornstarch, soda water and salt. Blend until smooth. Let the batter sit for 10 minutes to rest. Using the back of a French knife, crack the crab shell and expose the meat. In a food processor, combine all of the remaining ingredients except for the olive oil. Pulse until smooth. With the machine running, slowly add the olive oil in a steady stream. Season with salt and pepper. The mixture should be thick. Dip the exposed meat part of stone crab in the tempura batter. Fry the stone crabs for about 3 to 4 minutes, or until slightly golden brown. Remove the stone crabs from the oil and drain on a paper-lined plate Season with salt and pepper and serve with tartar sauce.

Yield: 4 servings