Soft-Shell Crab Sandwiches

Make the remoulade. Combine the mayonnaise, cornichons, dill, capers, mustard, anchovy paste, lemon zest, lemon juice and ¹⁄₂ tsp pepper in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Prepare the crabs. Place the cleaned crabs in a single layer in a shallow dish and pour the milk and buttermilk over them. Let the crabs soak in the milk mixture at room temperature, flipping them over once, for 10 to 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, put the flour, pecans, cayenne pepper, 1 tsp salt and ¹⁄₂ tsp pepper in a food processor or blender and process until the pecans are finely chopped and everything is evenly combined. Transfer the mixture to a wide shallow dish, such as a pie plate. Remove the crabs from their milk bath and dredge them in the flour mixture, shaking off the excess.

Heat 3 tbl of vegetable oil and 2 tbl of butter in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Saute the crabs, top side down, until nicely browned for 2 to 3 minutes. To make the crabs extra crispy, weigh them down with a bacon or panini press or other heavy object. Flip the crabs over and continue sauteing and pressing them down until the undersides are golden for 2 to 3 minutes.

Assemble the sandwiches. Spread both the top and bottom halves of the kaiser rolls generously with the remoulade. Place a lettuce leaf and two tomato slices on the bottom halves of each roll. Top with a soft-shell crab and the tops of the rolls.