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Can you Eat Blue Crab Lungs?

Many people love to eat crabs, but when you open the shell you might notice some internal organs, guts, and even yellow stuff .

When fully cooked, it is generally OK to eat nearly any part aside from the shell, however many people wonder if you should eat the crab lungs. When eating soft shelled crabs, you can eat everything including the shell itself since it is not hard to chew.

When cleaning a blue crab, the lungs are usually removed and not eaten. To identify the lungs, look for the white cone looking shapes directly under the carapace when you remove the outer shell.

crab lungs

Using your fingers or a fork, simply scrape away the crab lungs to reveal the hard shell underneath. What you are actually looking for is the white body meat which is deeper inside the shell.

What Happens If You Eat Crab Lungs? Are they Poisonous?

The short answer is that it is not dangerous to eat blue crab lungs and they are edible, but they are not preferred as a part of the crustacean. This video shows a demonstration of which parts are generally discarded:

After scraping away the lungs, look for white meat inside the body and claws. Use a cracker to open the crab shell and enjoy!