Dungie crab butter, safe it eat?

It's advised not to eat the butter aka "the good stuff" until further notice.  The best ways to prepare them is to steam or boil and throw away the water.  You can remove the butter and internals before or after cooking. 

I may be missing something here, but how do you remove BEFORE cooking if you're supposed to cook the crab while they're still alive?

I may be missing something here, but how do you remove BEFORE cooking if you're supposed to cook the crab while they're still alive?

who says that you have to cook them while they are still alive? 

I may be missing something here, but how do you remove BEFORE cooking if you're supposed to cook the crab while they're still alive?

You don't have to cook them alive. The idea of cooking them alive simply comes from the fact that their meat goes bad very quickly after death. This means hours though, not minutes. There's nothing wrong with splitting a live crab, removing the guts, and then steaming them as usual.

Here's what I did.  I cut them in half with a cleaver, rinsed off all in innards and butter then steamed the body with white meat.  From past personal experience I think a whole crab steamed taste better.  We had them for dinner last night.  At this I am not taking chances on domoic acid poisoning.

Here's what I did.  I cut them in half with a cleaver, rinsed off all in innards and butter then steamed the body with white meat.  From past personal experience I think a whole crab steamed taste better.  We had them for dinner last night.  At this I am not taking chances on domoic acid poisoning.

No complain from you since last night, I'll take it as a good sight (j/k) 

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You don't have to cook them alive. The idea of cooking them alive simply comes from the fact that their meat goes bad very quickly after death. This means hours though, not minutes. There's nothing wrong with splitting a live crab, removing the guts, and then steaming them as usual.
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Got it, thanks.

I may be missing something here, but how do you remove BEFORE cooking if you're supposed to cook the crab while they're still alive?

Take a live crab, in one hand you grip around the entire leg and body prtion from the back side, use the other hand to grip the shell, then separate the two.  Once split you shake all the gunk out of the body and peel the lungs off. 

Shucking live crabs can be a bit sporty but you wind up with a very clean and presentable dinner course. I didnt really start doing it till last season and I prefer them prepped this way......then again I also don't buy into all the hype about one prep method over another, IMO they all taste the same in a lemon butter bath