How To Boil Lobster
Cooking lobster can be quite intimidating, but it shouldn't be! Despite the many ways to cook them, we prefer to boil live lobster and with the right tools and simple instructions, anyone can host their own lobster fest!
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs lobster per person - this is approximate
- Salt
- 2 tbsp butter per person
- 1 slice lemon per person
Instructions
Before Cooking
- Get a large pot with cold water in it, and add lots of ice and lots of salt (taste to make sure it’s as salty as the sea!) to create an ice bath, or you can use your sink if you are cooking inside.
- Get a platter to put the cooked lobster on.
- Take the rubber bands off the lobster claws -be careful, you do NOT want to get pinched!
To Cook
- Fill a large stockpot with enough water to cover 3/4 of the lobster. Salt the water heavily, so it tastes like the sea and bring to a rolling boil.
- Carefully place your lobster into the pot, and slowly lower them head first and on their back. Try to ensure 3/4 of the lobster is covered.
- Cover the pot and bring the water back to a rolling boil.
- Once boiling, set your timer for 5-6 minutes - this is for 1 ½ lbs lobsters, adjust to the size you're serving. After 3-4 minutes, flip the lobster for the final 2-3 minutes of cooking.
- Take lobsters our with tongs, very carefully as they will be hot and immediately, place into the ice bath to cool them down and to stop the cooking process. Leave in for approximately 3 minutes and place on platter.
- Bring water to a boil again, and repeat steps 1-5 for the rest of your lobsters.
Cutting
- Pull the claws and legs off.
- Break apart the tail from the body.
- Use a butcher knife (careful with this step!) to cut the shell side of the tail and butterfly it so that it opens up. If you aren't comfortable cutting through the hard shell, turn the tail over and use a good pair of scissors to cut down the middle and then pry open to get to the meat.
Lemon Butter
- Melt 2 tbsp of butter in each butter warmer - usually one warmer will serve 2 people.
- Add the juice from about 1 slice of lemon (or to taste) to the warmer and mix the lemon and butter together.
- Turn on the butter warmer about 5 minutes before you're ready to serve to get it all warmed up.
Notes
IMPORTANT: Be sure to read through the FULL POST to get our tips for not only cooking but storing, prepping and serving the lobster.