Cooking Lobster

OK, I need some advice. I have never made lobster at home. Sometimes my local market has whole lobsters and sometimes just the tails. In any case, which is the best method for cooking it and not getting it overdone? Steaming? I was thinking about doing a surf and turf or perhaps a lobster salad. In any case, I need some guidance. Can anyone help?

Thanks!

http://www.lobsterhelp.com/cooking-lobster.html

All kinds of ideas here, but i can tell you that in the Maritimes (Atlantic Canada), most everyone boils lobster...

Awesome, thanks Marc. I guess I could have done a web search and found this, but the recipes and cooking tips on this forum sound so good, just wanted some personalized advice.

http://lobsterdick.tripod.com/ Dicky is my somewhat eccentric friend and landlord, his lobster boat docks in my backyard.

We live in lobster country, and for cooking, we boil it about 15 minutes, is salt water. Now, we have access directly to ocean water, so if you use fresh water, salt it as you please.

Some will dip in melted butter, but for us, it's like a steak, nothing added so you can get the real taste of lobster... <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Thumbsup.gif" alt="" />

So for us, no huge complicated recipe!!! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" />

I agree about the butter. When we serve it hot, we always use butter, but I usually cook extras and pick them apart, put the lobster in zip-lock bags and eat it cold with no butter. I actually enjoy it more that way. You taste the lobster, not overwhelmed by the butter!

Seriously. Boil them but do it on the BBQ cause your house will stank. Take it from a Atlantic Canadian.

For beginners, you don't 'cook' lobster, you steam them!! That being said, I've done them more ways than you can imagine, and I still prefer steaming!
If you're squeamish have your fish/lobster monger do the steaming for you. Unfortunately, there are times when they scream/screech. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/cry.gif" alt="" /> Seriously. That's not a problem for me because I have my eye fixed on the prize. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" /> If that makes me bad.....get over it. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Wink.gif" alt="" />
Ok...now, If you really, truly love lobster you won't want to waste it over a salad, unless it's TOTALLY a lobster/lobstah salad. But, if you're planning to place it daintly over a salad, in Andy's words, forgettaboutit!! The taste is so unique and special it must be savored/savoured!! Go for it!! Steam, break open the shell, dig out the meat, dip into melted butter and have the BEST time you've had in a long time!! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Banana.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Banana.gif" alt="" /> Orgasmic, comes to mind... <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Blush.gif" alt="" /> Mangia!! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Thumbsup.gif" alt="" />


<img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> Contessa

All this "lobster talk" is making me VERY HUNGRY! Having been born and raised in the Maritimes, I am a real lobster lover! Had relatives who were lobster fisherman so have enjoyed many fresh lobster parties! Nothing like sitting down to a huge buffet of all you can eat lobster in your own kitchen! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/dine.gif" alt="" />

I agree with Contessa we (well, Bill, cuz I won't do it) always steam ours. We have a huge lobster pot, goes ouside on the side burner of the grill, with a rack in the pot. Perfect!

Being a commercial lobsterman I have to add my two cents. I am also a true beliver in steaming. When you boil you lose so much of the flavor, but I will also say that there is nothing like grilling fresh lobsters. You simply split the lobster in half lenght wise clean it and throw it on the grill serve with a little melted butter.I eat them for breakfast,lunch and dinner!!!!

Someone should teach the chefs on St. Martin how to cook lobsters. I have just about given up. They overcook them and then later reheat them as ordered and they are tasteless grainy pieces of rubber. Lobster used to be my very favorite dinner, but now I would rather have fish, as they seem to cook that well. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/dine.gif" alt="" />

As I've mentioned before, the BEST Caribbean lobster I've ever had was on the island of St. Kitts, at a place called Sprat's Net. They pulled them out of the water, split them and grilled them slightly underdone. Prior to that, I'd never had a Caribbean lobster I liked, and other than Thermidor at Pineapple Pete's, nothing has come close. Do them right, they're great, overcook them, and they're mealy rubber.

I agree!
I always steam lobsters... boiling just cuts the taste, and it is easy to overcook them...
boiling also ruins the tomalley or "green stuff" & roe (makes it a watery mess)...

Yes, thanks for the heads up on the smell if cooking indoors. We do have a gas grill with a side burner, so that will work.

I just thought steaming might help keep it from getting overcooked and rubbery, but then if you don't cook them in salted water, how do you season them? And, do some of you eat that other [green] stuff, or just the meat?

You Atlantic coast/Canadians are lucky to have them readily available but then, you guys get all that snow and ice . . .

I have had what I thought was a perfect lobster at La Vie En Rose, ok at Lee's, but I am going to try PP's Thermidor over the next two weeks. Never had it been it gets such rave reviews in the forum, I gotta try it.

We NEVER season lobster! why change something that is perfect as is?
I love the green stuff & orange stuff (roe, in the females only)...

I steam a 2 pound lobster for about 20 mins., up to six in the pot, and it comes out perfectly...

don't forget to get hard shelled lobsters...
soft shelled lobsters will be half water inside the shell, as they have just molted...
good tip from silverfox, look for lobsters with barnacles on the shell... they will have the hardest shell and be almost all meat inside...

The last few years we have been going to Turtle Pier for a dish called Lobster Vanka, they cut the lobster longways down the middle then lay the open sides down on a grill and sear it in garlic butter . It's my favorite. mmm.

Grilled is the best!! JMHO.

don't forget to get hard shelled lobsters...
soft shelled lobsters will be half water inside the shell, as they have just molted...
good tip from silverfox, look for lobsters with barnacles on the shell... they will have the hardest shell and be almost all meat inside... [/quote]I beg to differ if you can get your hands on true soft shells not new shells or what they call tinnys and cook them like a soft shell crab there is nothing more decadent. They are absolutely unbeliveable.JMO

Newly molted lobsters are far and few between, they start to leather up shortly after they molt. However, I totaly agree, if you get one, ice it up and cook it like a soft crab, finest kind.

Ya got that right! They are few and far between...
the only ones I have had were from friensds that are lobstermen...
(once I got one myself scubadiving at the Shark River Inlet in NJ at midnight on a full moon)...
Baymen don't give them up readily, they usually they keep them for themselves...
certainly never seen any for sale in the local fishmarkets on the East End...

Hmmm, think I'll get a live lobster and pop 'em in the microwave, so how that works <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Yikes.gif" alt="" />

If your ever in the Point Pleasant area in july or august look me up the boats name is the Marielle Renee and I am located at the end of St. Louis ave. I catch quite a few at that time of year.

MMMmmmm..........How about a New Englam Clam Bake. Steamed Lobster, steamed clams, raw oysters, and raw quahogs. OK, throw in a couple ears of corn. Cold Beer....

OOPS, that's New England Clam Bake

<img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Joy.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Joy.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Joy.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Joy.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Joy.gif" alt="" />
You never know... we may show up! (we'll give u a shout first!)
A real soft shelled lobster is divine!
other than that... go with one with barnacles!

(I spent may a day... & night at Neilly's(sp?) Longbar!)

Hmm....in all the New England Clam Bakes I've been involved with there was nothing raw involved. It's Lobster/clams/potatoes/onions/corn/and possibly a sausage ie: kielbasa/linguica or other type. But, never anything raw. We used to build a pit on the beach w/charcoal, rocks, seaweed and a tarp over to steam. Those were the days!! Nothing has tasted that great since. Glad I have the memories.
Could that be a regional thingy??



<img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> Contessa

I was wondering who would eat a raw quahog? just a little on the chewey side don't ya think? <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Sick.gif" alt="" />
we only use them in chowder or clam sauce, etc...

I think just a regional use of the word quahog. Technically all hard clams (mercinaria mercinaria) are quahogs although in new england quahogs are the largest followed by cherrystones, top necks and then littlenecks. On Long Island we start with chowders, cherries, tops and necks. Then there are ocean quahogs which look alike but the shells are very dark and they don't taste very good, you often see them in supermarkets. And don't forget florida maricultured hard clams from ceder key, sea or surf (think Doxee) clams and soft clams which are steamers on long island and belly or pisser clams in new england. Wow, I'm suddenly feeling very clammy this morning.

Contessa, it's just a family thing, a cooler with raw oysters, it's just something we enjoy.....

Sounds delish!!! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Groovin.gif" alt="" />

The Homer

Ah....that's different. I thought you meant it was part of the N.E. Clambake.
Of course, any variation is great! Whatever makes your 'tongue-tie'!! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" />
It's all good!! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Clapping.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Clapping.gif" alt="" />


<img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> Contessa

Memories- you say Contessa--try this one-- when I was a teenager (yes I really was one once) my family cooked lobsters for dinner - a real treat back then-- the only pot big enough that we had was the pressure cooker-- while the lobs were steaming-- the lid rotated just enough to hook under the flange---when my Dad removed the lid- the lobs literally hit the ceiling from the pressure-- Mom and Dad got boiling water on them-- of course back then-- the cure for a burn was vinegar--- did you ever have a lobster dinner-when all you could smell was vinegar??? chbpod

Well if it is, it sure does sound like a delicious regional thingy! That would be lovely, maybe a few Bloody Mary's - helluva good beach party!

Yuck, you guys, that's gross! I hope PETA doesn't read this forum!

Hey Clark,

There has to be more to the story than that. First of all, that is more than just boiling water, which would have been bad enough. Secondly, it was boiling water under pressure which means two things. One, it was of a higher temperature than boiling water, meaning it was steam. And then, because it was steam, it would be able to penetrate the skin more than water. Do you mean to tell us that they just sat right down and ate dinner without going to the hospital? Also, those lobsters had to have been mulchified from a gross overcooking. (is that a word?) Anyway, haven't seen you post in a while. Hope all is well with you.

Wayne <><

Nothin' better than fried steamers with bellies at The Elbow Room in Jamespoort!
or just a big ole' plate of them steamed with melted garlic butter at Claudio's Dock!
or better yet... dig them yourself and cook them up right away at home!

Wayne, that pressure cooker story of Clark's had me roaring. My mother put a dinner in the pressure cooker once, and didn't tighten the lid properly and when the steam built up so didn't the cover.....right up to the ceiling!! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" /> OMG, I'll never forget that one. My grandmother told her, that's what she gets for trying to cook an American dinner!! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" />
( Nonnie was from Italy so if it wasn't Italian it was American, didn't matter if it was Matzo ball soup, it was American) <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" />


<img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> Contessa

My Dearest Contessa,

We all have our pressure cooker stories. I dare say that these young wives nowadays don't even know what it is. Anyway, one time my mother was cooking butternut squash and I don't know what happened but with the pressure of the steam, that squash was all over the ceiling, and stayed there for many weeks. With your story and mine, it was just funny. In Clark's case, there could have been injury. Although, any time a pressure cooker lets loose, there could certainly be injury. I still have one, and use it, but are they even sold anymore? Sorry for highjacking the lobster thread.

Wayne <><

OH geeze, I haven't used my pressure cooker in years, but it does the BEST turnips/rudabakers & butternut squash!
any hard gourd/turnip type veggie! even carrots, potatos...
also makes a mean pot roast! and really quick!

I've never had a problem with mine... and it was my grandmothers, about 80 years old now...
The giggly top thingy has three settings for different pressures...

BTW... ya gotta let the steam calm down, then run the pressure cooker under cold water BEFORE you remove the giggly thingy and open the top!
otherwise... KABLOOM!

Hi Contessa, we all call it by many names. Here in South Carolina, we call it a Low Country Boil. Corn, potatoes, sausage,shrimp (local only) mussels and crayfish all cooked in beer and Old Bay Seasoning. On the side we serve raw May River oysters, snow crab legs and Main Lobster. We have a special table made by the river that has a hole in the middle with a huge can underneath to catch the shells and trash. We spread the table with paper, drain the pot and pore onto the table. Friends and family eat the food with their hands and we serve with lots of crusty French bread, beer and red wine.

jimandi,

Well, that description was certainly a turn on! It would almost rival our New England Clambake. (I said almost) Please, though, what is your sausage and what is Old Bay seasoning? Thanks, and yum.

Wayne <><

Wayne, Old Bay Seasoning
best stuff for steamed blue claw crab or steamed shrimp!
use liberally... and have chap-stick around for later!

easy peel and eat shrimp: 3/4 lb per person 31/40 or 41/50 shrimp. put in pot, cover with h2o, just before it comes to a boil remove from heat and run under cold water to stop the cooking. put in a container and add a cup or so of old bay, stir and refrigerate overnight. spread newspaper on table and peel away dipping them in melted butter. when done wrap the whole mess up and discard.

Now, Brian, that's where we differ. It think the flavor is strong and needs just a little to send it's message. I like it, but it can be overpowering. The last Shrimp boil I'd been to was is Maryland, by no means Low Country, but I'd love to visit Low Country and feast, first hand!! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Clapping.gif" alt="" />


<img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> Contessa


BTW, Wayne, Old Bay is a seasoning that is used mostly for seafood. It's a combination of spices and herbs. Very good but strong.

Brian,

Neilly's Long Bar is now the Broadway. The long bar is now long gone, but atmosphere is very similar. Presently owned by a woman I went to school with, fine people.
Bob

Phyllis,
That is how we used to do it!
Start a fire on the beach in NJ now is just about the fastest way to end up in the slammer! Those days are long gone! At least in the Peoples Republic of NJ.
Bob

Wayne, we most often use Kielbasa but you can use any eastern European sausage that you like.

As far as a NE clambake, I have only been to one in all my years and thought it was JUST WONDERFUL.
Regards,

jimandi,

Well, thanks to all my friends I now know what Old Bay Seasoning is. And, okay on the kielbasa. However, you really have me stumped on "Eastern European" sausage. Not certain what that means. Enlighten me, please? Thanks.

Wayne <><

Sorry, those are my Grandmother's Ukarinian terms. Kavbasa or Kubasa. About the same taste but we love to pick these up if we are in a Ukarinian market. Sweet Italian works just as well and some do not even include the sausage in the low country boil.
What every makes your heart happy, then dump it in the Low Country Boil
Hope this helps.
Regards,
Sylvia

HeeHee... Kool... a nestegg of Seashore Americana!
smelly, dirty, (the customers, mostly fishermen) and a great old bar by the docks!
Neilly's was a legend...