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Boiled Lobster
If you can boil water, you can cook perfect lobster.
The secret is to not overcook your lobster
because they will get a bit tougher. Here
are some tips to guide you to perfection.
If you time it right, you’ll have the most
moist and delicious treat imaginable.
1. Bring a large pot, filled with water
deep enough to completely cover the lobster
by about 3 inches, to a strong boil. You
can add a pinch of sea salt to the water,
if you’d like but not too much. Over salting
will ruin the delicate flavor of the lobster.
2. Hold the lobster behind the head, by
the body. Do not remove the
bands that hold the claws closed. Place
lobsters head first into the
pot, completely submerging them. Fresh,
live lobster will react to the temperature
change and stretch their claws at this time.
That’s why you never remove the rubber bands.
Otherwise you could end up as the dinner
instead of the diner. Rapid heat change
and fresh water will kill the lobsters very
quickly.
3. Cover the pot tightly and return to a
boil as quickly as possible. When the water
boils, begin counting the time. Regulate
the heat to prevent water from boiling over,
but be sure to keep the liquid boiling throughout
the cooking time. Some people add wine to
the boiling water, for flavor. Personally,
we think the flavor of fresh lobster is
perfect and wine belongs in a glass, not
the pot.
4. Boil lobster for 10 minutes per pound,
for the first pound. Add 3 minutes per pound
for each additional pound thereafter. For
example, a 2-pound lobster should boil for
13 minutes and a 1 ½-pound lobster should
boil for 11 ½ minutes. Times given are for
hard shell lobsters. Shedders or “new shell”
lobster – reduce boiling time by 2-3 minutes.
If you’re boiling a large number of lobster
at once, stir the pot once about 7 minutes
in.
5. Lobsters are done when the outer
shell is bright red or when the two front
antennae pull out easily. Do not overcook.
Carefully remove lobsters from the pot with
tongs. Be careful, they are very hot. Set
in a large bowl for five minutes to cool
before cracking.
Make sure you have a lot of bibs, nutcrackers,
picks and drawn butter ready. |
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