Lobsters Done Right

Lobster Done Right

When you think about lobster, you will most likely think Maine or New England. Some of the best lobster in the world comes from Maine. When you look at an expensive seafood menu it will probably say "fresh Maine lobster tail," and will cost you an arm and a leg to purchase. At restaurants all the fun is taken out of lobster, because they serve you a tail that is ready to eat, and you'll probably still be hungry after spending 35 dollars or more. For all of you that don't know how to properly prepare lobster, this process paper is for you.

Lobsters aren't very handsome, and they might even come off a bit scary, that's why the first step isn't that hard to accomplish. First you want to take one of your fresh Maine lobsters that's still moving around in the bag, and put it in a pot with about a gallon of boiling water. If you are having more then one lobster, then just do the same with the other lobsters. The squealing noise you hear is just a release of pressure, so don't get too concerned. Put the cover on the pot and let the lobster or lobsters cook for about fifteen to twenty minutes, or until they turn red like a fire truck. While you're cooking the lobster or lobsters you want to start on the stuff needed for the consumption. Take a stick of butter and put it into a bowl, then stick the bowl into the microwave for a minute or two. Make sure the butter is melted and hot, then you will want to leave it on the table where you will be eating. Butter is a key part of eating lobster, so you want to make sure you have some. Next get all the silverware out, and grab a huge bowl for throwing the shells in. If you want to be serious about lobster, you will need a lobster shell cracker, or a regular nut cracker will do. It's possible to crack lobster shells with your hands, but a cracker will make it much easier. Especially when you get a huge rock lobster that has a hard winter shell. After the table is all set up it should be close to the end of the cooking process. Now it's time to pull the nasty creatures out of the pot with tongs. Be careful because the pot will be very hot. After you take the lobster or lobsters out of the pot, place them on a big plate. Water will most likely pour out after being placed on the plate. After the water all pours out, place the lobster or lobsters on individual plates.

Now it's time for the fun part. Make sure you put on your favorite bib because things might get a little messy. You don't have to do these steps in any specific order, but this is how most New Englanders handle a lobster. Take your shell cracker and crack one of the claws. Pop the claw open with your hands and pry out the meat with a fork. Then take the meat and put it into the butter bowl and let it sit there. Eat the meat at your leisure. If you don't like it too buttery then just dunk it into the butter and scarf it. After you get all the meat out of one claw, move on to the next one. Do the same thing you did to the first claw, and then crack the arms attached to the claws, and gather as much meat as possible. Plop that meat into the butter like before. The next step is the tricky part. You should have the body and the tail remaining. With your hands grab the tail and close your fist until the tail folds in. This creates a seam in the bottom part of the tail. Once you have that seam you can pull the tail open in the opposite direction, this action will expose the meat. The tail portion of meat is the greatest amount of meat in a lobster. With your fingers you want to pull the tail meat out of the tail shell. After you have the meat out you want to pull off the thin layer of meat on the top. You'll see it, it pulls off quite easily. That thin layer is eatable so you can go ahead and toss it into the butter with