Cooking & Cracking - Colville Bay Oyster Company

How to Boil Lobster

Lobster should be cooked either in clean seawater or salted fresh water (add 2 tbsp./25 ml of salt to each quart/litre of fresh water).

Fill a large pot with enough water to cover the lobster and bring it to a boil.
Grasp the lobster firmly by the back just behind the claws and plunge it head first into the boiling water.
Cover, return the water to a boil and then lower the heat to a bubbly simmer.
Lobster will cook in 12-20 minutes depending on the size. Canners will cook in 12-15 minutes, while large lobsters will require up to 20 minutes of cooking time. Timing should start only after the water has returned to a boil.
Once cooked, the lobster should be drained immediately, They can now be served hot or chilled quickly by being dipped in cold water. It is important to cool the lobster quickly so that they do not remain in the temperature range in which bacteria multiply rapidly.
If you wish to use the lobster in a prepared dish, you can now remove the meat from the shell.

Cooked lobsters will turn bright red. When the antennae pull out easily, the lobsters are done.

Put newspaper down on the table, melt some butter, grab your lobster bibs, crackers and picks, and plenty of napkins, and enjoy!

Twist off both lobster claws where they meet the body. Break off the knuckles where they attach to the main part of the claw.
Crack the claws, using a nutcracker, pliers, or even a hammer if the shell is very hard. Pick the meat from the claws.
Use a small fork or pick to pick the meat from the knuckles.
Separate the lobster tail from the body by bending the tail back and using a twisting motion. Break off the flippers by bending them back. You’ll find tidbits of meat in the flippers.
Insert a fork into the end of the tail where the flippers break off and push out the chunk of tail meat. Remove the black vein that runs down the middle of the tail.
Remove the small legs attached to the body, and suck the bits of lobster meat from each leg.
Crack the body apart lengthwise. Pick the meat from the body cavities with a small fork or pick. The body contains “tomalley,” the lobster’s liver. Tomalley turns green when cooked, and many consider it a delicacy.