Do you have old friends coming into town or new friends you want to impress? Are you a pretty good cook who would rather cook at home than go out to a restaurant? If so, you’ll need a spectacular meal to serve.
One great option for a spectacular meal is lobster. While other choices like prime rib, filet mignon, rack of lamb, or grilled salmon are fantastic, your easiest option is lobster. Even if you don’t know how to cook lobster and have never seen it prepared, it remains a top choice for amateur chefs.
What You Should Avoid When Cooking Lobster
There’s not much you can do wrong with lobster, but here are a few things to watch out for:
- Forgetting to boil the water in the pot before throwing in the live lobster. It’s a bit freaky to see the lobster crawl out and fall to the floor!
- Cooking it too long, which will result in rubbery meat.
- Neglecting to have warm, melted butter to dip the lobster meat into after it’s cooked.
That’s about it! What you’ll quickly discover when learning how to cook lobster is that it’s actually pretty easy. First, prepare the lobster. Then, boil it until the shell turns bright red. Finally, arrange it on a plate so it looks attractive.
The Details:
As with all dishes, the details matter. Here are 7 tips you should know, but remember, the basic steps are always simple:
- Use a large pot, larger than the lobster. You don’t want to see half of it sticking out of the pot, do you?
- Use tap water in the pot. Don’t bother with purified, carbonated, or bottled spring water. Add 2-4 tablespoons of salt to the water. The lobster lived in salty seawater, and this helps keep the flavor intact.
- If the lobster is live, drop it into the water head first. Some people “hypnotize” the lobster by gently rubbing its head to calm it down before boiling.
- If the lobster is frozen, thaw it at room temperature before boiling. A 2-lb lobster can thaw in just a few hours.
- For extra flavor, add vegetables and herbs like garlic, pepper, lemon, small potatoes, carrots, celery, parsley, basil, and rosemary to the boiling water.
- If you feel sorry for the lobster, place it in the freezer for 10 minutes before boiling it. This is considered a more humane way to prepare it.
- Cooking time is 10 minutes for the first pound, then 3 extra minutes for each additional pound. A 3-lb lobster will be cooked in 16 minutes.
- Once cooked, remove the lobster from the water, blot the excess water with paper towels, and serve hot with melted butter.
- Remove the black vein running down the tail, as well as the green tomalley and the sand sac (behind the eyes in the head region).
- When the shell is bright red and the antennae come off easily when gently pulled, the lobster is ready.
See how easy it is to cook lobster? Enjoy your meal!
