Can you eat crab gills ... and live?

[Larry_D]

Every recipe I read says TAKE THE GILLS OFF AND DON'T EAT THEM!

What happens if you do eat them?

Do you become a crab?

Do you die?

Or do they just taste nasty?

[Black Irish]

I'd have to go with choice #3. 

[Crabber Joe]

I would go with answer C  taste nasty,  they filter all the water that the crab takes in and therefore  are not recommended for consumption

[SHELLFISH]

C. They are not palatable.

[Tuarus]

YOU WILL WANT TO    UH GO TO GO  .   

[Seaweed]

If you wanted too, you could eat the ENTIRE crab: shell, meat, guts, eyeballs, legs, everything.  Its all edible.  Do the gills taste good... probably not.  But they absolutely will not kill you.  Why would they?

[ran_c]

i eat them all the time. when we bbq them the grease is so hot that it makes the gills almost powdery and with the bbq seasoning on them it tastes awesome.....imo

[Islander]

I will go with the majority and say they just taste nasty.

[Seaweed]

Thats awesome, ran_c, and I just knew there was someone out there that ate gills, and actually liked them.

Freak!

[Larry_D]

They're called dead man's fingers, after all.   

My mother or father (don't remember which) told us kids that if we ate something inside the crab, we would die.  Seriously.  I realize now that it's bunk, but I wondered why all the fuss about the gills.

[Crabbeer]

Best rule of thumb with cooked crabs is:  put it in your mouth if you are in doubt, if you shouldn't eat it you'll know and just spit it out.  It won't hurt you.  I tell it to everyone who asks, seriously, that is how I learned.

[Boss Haus]

I ate them once when I was 5 and yes you will die.

[Seaweed]

Boss is living proof that you will die.  Wait a minute....

[Islander]

Boss,

 My deepest sympathy on your demise!!! I had no idea you were posting from the other side. Talk about long distance.

[C-Hawk18]

Either you'll die - or you'll start micro-waving live crabs! Or both - I guess?

[Larry_D]

I ate them once when I was 5 and yes you will die.

See that!  My parents were right after all.  Well, let me ask you, when you died, how long did it take to ... HEY!

EDIT: I am now a Jr. member!  Now everyone will speculate on who shot me.   

[Seaweed]

See that!  My parents were right after all.  Well, let me ask you, when you died, how long did it take to ... HEY!

EDIT: I am now a Jr. member!  Now everyone will speculate on who shot me.   

I saw a guy this  weekend, complete with mullet and mirrored sunglasses, with a t-shirt that said "I Shot JR"

I apologize in advance to anyone from NJ that still has a mullet.  Don't worry, its still cool.

[Islander]

I apologize in advance to anyone from NJ that still has a mullet. Don't worry, its still cool.

Mullets still cool!! That's a good one!!

[Crabber Joe]

I saw a guy this  weekend, complete with mullet and mirrored sunglasses, with a t-shirt that said "I Shot JR"

I apologize in advance to anyone from NJ that still has a mullet.  Don't worry, its still cool.

No apology needed, no self respecting individual from NJ would have such a clown hair do. check south of Deleware those cuts are real common down there!

[ran_c]

Thats awesome, ran_c, and I just knew there was someone out there that ate gills, and actually liked them.

Freak!

let's remember something...i am from south louisiana.......we eat all kinds of road kill that ya'll would never touch....and we let nothing go to waste