Steamed Maine Lobster

Cooking beautifully steamed Maine lobsters is just about as easy as it gets!



You'll Need -

Lobsters

Lobster Pot

Bowl of Ice Water

Salt

Butter

Lemon

Fill your lobster pot with about two inches of water, add 2 tbsp of salt and boil. Add the lobsters to the pot and steam...see below for cooking times by weight.The lobsters will be bright red when they are done (the meat should be white, not opaque)


Carefully remove the lobsters from the pot with tongs...they will be HOT so be careful!! The lobsters will keep cooking even out of the water so to ensure they dont get overdone, place them in a bowl of ice water before cracking!

Getting to the meat is the most difficult part of the process! You can buy special lobster cracking utensils or what I think is easiest is just to use a big kitchen knife and a meat tenderizer. To crack the claws place the sharp end of the knife down on the shell and hold it steady. Tap the knife with the tenderizer and the shell will bust right open. Twist off both claws and the attached knuckles from the body. From there you will be able to get at all of the meat inside the claws and knuckles.


To get at the tail meat, twist the tail from the body. Place the rounded edge of the tail onto the cutting board and use the knife to cut down vertically down the center of the tail. Then you'll be able to unfold the shell from around the tail meat. 


For the more adventurous lobster eaters... there are also two pockets of meat inside the body.To get at them, turn the lobster body over on its backside and with your knife cut open between the walking legs. The body of the lobster containes tomallley which looks like a green paste but is actually the lobsters liver and pancreas. Some people consider it a delicacy and eat it along with the rest of the lobster but many rinse it off to avoid it!


I serve my lobsters with a lemon wedge and a small ramekin of melted butter for each person!



Lobster Weight: Cooking Time


1-1/4 lbs. 7-8 minutes
1-1/2 lb. 8-10 minutes
2 lbs. 11-12 minutes
2-1/2-3 lb. 12-14 minutes
5 lb. 20-22 minutes

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