Venetian moeche fritte: lagoon crabs in moult, left in beaten egg, floured and fried whole. The autumn dish of the lagoon, in 2 and a half hours.
Introduction
Moeche are the rarest dish in Venetian cooking, and one of the simplest. They are green lagoon crabs caught at the moment of moulting, when they have just shed the old shell and the new one is still soft. In those few hours the crab is eaten whole, legs and all, and once fried it turns crisp outside and tender inside, with a sweet, full flavour of the sea. That is where the name comes from: in Venetian «moeca» means soft. They are found twice a year, in spring and in autumn, and only for a few weeks: whoever sees them at the fish counter in Rialto or Chioggia buys them that very day.
The home recipe has two stages. First the moeche are left in a bowl of beaten eggs, where they absorb the egg and fill up: in Venice they are then called «moeche col pien», that is, with filling. Then they are dredged in flour and fried in very hot oil for a few minutes. There are two possible mistakes: oil that is too cold, which makes them greasy and soft instead of crisp, and a coat of flour that is too thick, which covers the flavour of the crab. The rest is salt, and a glass of bubbles.
In the glass we pour the Prosecco DOC Treviso Brut from La Caneva dei Biasio, a Glera sparkling wine with aromas of acacia and yellow apple, whose bubble cuts the fat of the fry and leaves room for the sweetness of the crab. To flour the moeche we use Aurum Farina di grano tenero tipo 1 from Mulino Terrevive, stone-ground.
The History of Moeche
The green crab lives throughout the Venetian lagoon, and like all crustaceans it must change its shell in order to grow. It does so mainly in two seasons, spring and autumn. The fishermen who tend to them are called moecanti, and theirs is one of the oldest trades of the lagoon, practised today by only a few families between Burano, the Giudecca and Chioggia. The whole job lies in the eye: among the crabs caught, the moecante recognises the ones about to moult, the «boni», and keeps them in large wooden baskets sunk in the lagoon water, the «vieri». The baskets are checked every day, and the crabs that have just changed their shell are taken out at once, because the new shell hardens within a few hours.
This waiting is what gives moeche their price, and their fame. They are a product that can be neither planned nor stored: they are sold alive, in the right season, and cooked the same day. That is why in Venetian osterie moeche appear on the menu for only a few weeks, and why they have become a dish for feast days rather than every day. The version with egg, «moeche col pien», is the home one: the egg adds substance to a crab that has little meat, and makes it a rich starter, to be served hot straight out of the oil.
Ingredients
For the moeche
- Live moeche (green crabs in moult)600 g
- Eggs3
- Fine salt1 pinch
For frying
- Aurum Farina di Grano tenero tipo 1150 g
- Peanut oil for frying1 litre
- Fine saltas needed
Nutritional Values per Serving
Values calculated from the recipe's ingredients using the CREA food composition tables, and from the labels of our products where available. They are an estimate per serving, not a laboratory analysis.
Equipment Needed
- Large bowl with a lid
- Deep pot for frying
- Kitchen thermometer
- Slotted spoon
- Tray lined with kitchen paper
- Shallow bowl for the flour
Tip: Moeche are bought alive, on the day they are cooked: a moulting crab that has been dead for hours loses its sweetness and its shell begins to harden. At the counter they must still be moving and soft to the touch. If you cannot find them alive, some fishmongers sell them already cleaned and frozen: they are fried without the egg stage, still cold, and the result is good, if less rich.
How to Make Moeche Fritte — Venetian Recipe
Rinsing
Rinse the moeche under cold running water, a few at a time, to remove sand and lagoon residue. Drain them well and discard any whose shell already feels hard: they are no longer moeche and cannot be eaten whole.
Chef's tip: Rinse them in a colander, under a gentle trickle of water: a strong jet breaks them, because the new shell is extremely thin.
In the egg
In a large bowl, beat the eggs with a pinch of salt. Add the moeche, close the bowl with the lid and put a weight on top so they cannot get out. Leave them in the egg for about two hours, in a cool place: they absorb the egg and fill up.
Chef's tip: The eggs must cover the moeche well: if the bowl is too wide and they are left uncovered, add another egg. At the end of the rest almost nothing should be left in the bowl.
The flour
Heat the oil in the pot to 170-175 °C. Meanwhile take the moeche out of the egg, let them drip and dredge them one at a time in the flour, turning them so they are coated on all sides. Shake them well to remove the excess flour.
Chef's tip: Flour them only at the last moment, when the oil is already hot: if the flour stays in contact with the egg for too long it turns damp and comes away in the pan.
Frying
Fry the moeche a few at a time for 3-4 minutes, turning them halfway through, until they are golden and crisp. Lift them out with the slotted spoon onto the kitchen paper, salt them at once and serve them piping hot.
Chef's tip: Do not put too many moeche in the pot at once: the oil temperature drops and the fry turns greasy. Between one batch and the next, let the thermometer come back up to 170 °C.
Wine to Pair with Moeche Fritte
Moeche are crabs caught at the moment they have changed their shell, when the new armour is still tender and they are eaten whole. Fried, they are a dish of contrasts. Outside there is the golden crust of flour, crisp and glossy with oil; inside there is sweet, almost creamy meat, with a very clear flavour of the sea and the richness of the egg the crabs absorbed before frying. The wine has to do three things at once: cut the oil of the fry, respect the sweetness of the crab and stand up to the salinity of the sea without adding to the salt. Tannin is ruled out, because on fried shellfish it leaves a bitter, metallic aftertaste. High alcohol is also to be avoided, because it covers the meat, which is the most delicate part of the dish. What is needed is a fresh white, and on a fry the bubble is the most effective tool: in Venice, after all, moeche have always been served with a sparkling wine.
Recommended Sparkling Wine
Prosecco DOC Treviso Spumante Brut — La Caneva dei Biasio — The **Prosecco DOC Treviso Brut from La Caneva dei Biasio** is a sparkling wine from Glera grapes, refermented in pressure tanks by the Charmat method, which keeps the aromas of the grape intact: acacia, wisteria, yellow apple and a hint of pineapple. On fried moeche it works above all through the bubble. The carbonation, together with the acidity of the Glera, carries away the oil of the fry with every sip and leaves the mouth clean, ready for the next crab. The residual sugar of 11 grams per litre, at the upper limit of Brut, gives the wine a softness that goes along with the sweetness of the meat instead of contrasting it. And its 10,5 degrees leave the dish in the foreground. The limit should be stated: it is a fresh, light wine, not a structured sparkling wine, and if the moeche stay a long time in the egg and the fry becomes richer, the Prosecco seems slighter than it is. With the dry fry of this recipe the balance holds. Serve it at 6-8 °C, in a white wine glass rather than a flute, so the aromas can open up.
Want to know more about the grape? our guide to Prosecco
The Territorial Alternative
Breganze DOC Vespaiolo — Firmino Miotti — For those who prefer a still wine, the **Breganze DOC Vespaiolo from Firmino Miotti** does with acidity what the Prosecco does with its bubble. Vespaiola is a historic grape of the Vicenza area, loved by the Venetians and praised as early as 1610, and here it grows on the volcanic hills of Santa Lucia, in Breganze. The acidity of the grape cuts through the fry, while the minerality of those soils lines up with the salinity of the crab without adding salt. 40% of the wine ages in acacia barriques, with bâtonnage: the result is a full body that stands up to the richness of the egg better than a light sparkling wine. It is the choice for moeche that have absorbed a lot of egg, or for those who serve them with polenta. The limit lies in the aromas: the notes of chamomile and passion fruit are more intense than those of the Prosecco, and on smaller, more delicate moeche they come through more than the crab. At 12% vol, serve it at 10-12 °C.
Craft Beer as an Alternative
Bold Helles Beer — Norah's Farm — With fried moeche a beer works if it cuts the fat without adding bitterness, and the **Bold Helles from Norah's Farm** does exactly that. It is a bottom-fermented pale lager in the German style, with firm carbonation that carries away the oil of the fry just as the bubble does in wine. The malt, with its flavour of grain and bread, belongs to the same family as the flour crust and accompanies it. The hops stay in the background, and that matters: on fried shellfish a very bitter beer would leave a metallic note in the mouth. The limit lies in its intensity: at 4,8% vol it is a light beer that refreshes more than it accompanies, and on the richness of the egg it stays a step behind the Vespaiolo. Serve it at 6-8 °C.
Want to know more about the style? pale craft beers
What to Serve Them With
Moeche are eaten straight after frying, with your hands or with a fork, and they ask for almost nothing. In the lagoon they are often served with a slice of white polenta toasted on the grill, whose neutral sweetness accompanies the crab without covering it.
If the moeche open a Venetian dinner, before or after them can come sarde in saor or baccalà mantecato on toasted bread: cold dishes with a bold flavour that act as a counterpoint to the hot fry. Lemon can go on the table, but it should be used sparingly: its acidity covers the sweetness of the crab, which is the most precious thing in the dish.
Variations
- Without the egg: this is the simplest version, and the one to choose with frozen moeche. They are rinsed, dried well, floured and fried. The flavour of the crab comes through more, but the dish is less rich and the meat drier.
- With Parmigiano: some families add a spoonful of grated Parmigiano to the beaten eggs, which gives savouriness and a darker crust. It should be used in moderation, because the cheese easily covers the delicate flavour of the crab.
- With polenta: to make it a one-dish meal, the moeche are served on a slice of toasted white polenta, as in many osterie of the lagoon. The polenta soaks up the oil of the fry and accompanies the sweetness of the crab.
- With batter: some cooks use a light batter of flour and ice-cold sparkling water instead of flour alone, which gives a thinner, puffier crust. The result is lighter, but less traditional.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are moeche?
They are the **green crabs of the Venetian lagoon at the moment of moulting**, when they have just lost the old shell and the new one is still soft. At this stage they can be eaten whole, with nothing thrown away. The name comes from the Venetian «moeca», which means soft.
When is moeche season?
Twice a year, in **spring and autumn**, when the crabs change their shell. The season lasts a few weeks and depends on the temperature of the lagoon water, so it can shift from one year to the next. Out of season only frozen moeche are available.
Why are moeche left in egg?
Because the crabs, still alive, absorb the beaten egg and fill up: in Venice they are then called «moeche col pien», that is, with filling. The egg gives substance to a crab that has little meat, and when fried it becomes a soft, tasty heart inside the crisp crust.
Can frozen moeche be fried?
Yes. They are fried without fully thawing them and without the egg stage: just dry them well, flour them and put them in the hot oil. The result is less rich than fresh moeche col pien, but it is still a good dish when the season is over.
What wine goes with fried moeche?
A dry sparkling wine, because the bubble cuts the fat of a fry better than any other wine. In Venice the classic choice is a **Prosecco Brut**, fresh and low in alcohol, which leaves room for the sweetness of the crab. Those who prefer a still wine can choose a white with good acidity such as the **Vespaiolo** from Breganze. Alternatively, a bottom-fermented pale lager with little hops.
