Q&A for How to Eat Crabs

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How long can a blue crab be dead before you cook it?

Anne Lloyd
Professional Chef
Chef Anne Lloyd is a Professional Chef and the Owner of Nolavore in New Orleans, Louisiana. Chef Anne has had a career in the restaurant and food service industries for over 30 years and has traveled and cooked on both coasts of the United States as well as in Europe and Southeast Asia. She specializes in utilizing local and regional foods to create dishes featuring international flavors. She also provides full-service catering, prepared foods, gourmet packaged goods, pantry items, and kids' cooking camps and classes for all ages. She received a BA in Anthropology from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and her Associate of Arts, Culinary Arts degree from the California Culinary Academy. Anne is an alumna of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Summit.

Anne Lloyd

Professional Chef

Expert Answer

They have to be cooked live, in my opinion. There may be a more scientific answer, but I always boil them live.

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Can you eat the yellow stuff in crabs?

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This answer was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

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This is actually known as the "tomally" and is considered a delicacy in many parts of the world. This is an organ in the crab that fulfills the role of the liver and pancreas. If your crabs come from an area where there is pollution you should avoid eating it since pollutants can accumulate in this part of the crab.

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Can all crabs be eaten?

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No, there are some species of crabs that can be highly toxic and there is no antidote. These crabs are mainly from the Xanthidae family, which is a large and diverse group. Due to this, you should never eat any crab that has not been properly identified.

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Question

Is the yellow stuff in crabs poop?

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No, this is called the "tomally" and is an organ special to crabs and lobsters that functions as both their liver and pancreas. It is safe to eat as long as the place the crab was fished is not polluted.

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Can you eat crab raw?

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Crab is cooked in most cuisines around the world since raw crab can harbor dangerous parasites. An exception to this is a Korean dish called "gejang" where raw crab is fermented with salt, soy sauce and chili pepper. In this case it is likely that the high salt content, fermentation process and careful crab selection can make the crab much safer to eat, but you should probably not attempt to make this dish yourself unless you know what you are doing and eating raw crab not prepared in any way is definitely a bad idea!

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Question

What is the green stuff in the crab?

Community Answer

The green part (which is sometimes yellow) is basically the head of the crab, and it's perfectly edible, though most people find it bitter and prefer to remove it.

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Question

What happens if I eat a claw?

Community Answer

Nothing, you will just have some abdominal pain, and likely some difficulty swallowing it in the first place, because it's basically inedible.

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Question

Can I eat the soft jelly-like meat inside?

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Eat only the soft, eggy parts. Some innards may be bitter and not to your liking.

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Question

Can I freeze a crab?

Community Answer

Yes, you can freeze crab, but make sure that it is cleaned and in an airtight container for best results.

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Question

Can I eat the shells of a crab?

Community Answer

Shells are generally considered inedible.They taste bland and would hurt going down. Eat the crab meat instead.

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Question

Are all parts of a crab edible?

Community Answer

It really depends on the type of crab.

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Question

What would I do if the crab was still alive and I boiled it?

Community Answer

You could leave the room, provided your pot lid is secure, or you could bear with a few seconds of noise.

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Question

Do I only eat the claws?

Community Answer

No. Most of the meat will be in the body. Eating only the claws is extremely wasteful.

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Question

If I buy a whole cooked crab at the store, should I wash it off?

Community Answer

No. It’s already cooked. If you washed it, the spices or taste of it might be washed off as well. So it’s better to just warm it up again and eat it!

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Question

Can I eat the head of a crab?

Community Answer

Yes. The top carapace is sometimes deep fried with garlic in Chinese restaurants. Makes those soft bits yummy.

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Question

How do I eat king crab legs?

Community Answer

The same way you eat a normal crab, although their shells are normally softer and bigger so you can just break them with your hands.

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Question

Can the snow crab body be eaten?

Community Answer

Yes.

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Question

Can the shell of the crab's appendages and lower part can be eaten?

Community Answer

The shells are pretty much inedible and would have no flavor -- the meat and crab butter is what you want.

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Question

Where can I find photos of crab intestines, as I do not want to eat them?

Community Answer

Crabs don't really have intestines. If you're confused, go to YouTube and look up videos on how to eat crab for reference.

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Question

For how long can cooked crab meat be stored?

Community Answer

Cooked crab meat wrapped in plastic wrap cannot be stored in the fridge for more than five days. If you want to eat it some day, cook the cooked crab meat thoroughly again after taking it out of the fridge. It's better to cook and eat crab in a day if you want to taste the freshest crab.

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