A Few Tips on How to Eat a Whole Maine Lobster

Posted on February 23, 2021

Are you ready to enjoy your Maine Lobster? Here’s a few tips on how to eat a whole Maine Lobster and have you looking like a seafood aficionado in no time.

Eating a Maine lobster is easy once you know what to do

First gather up a nutcracker (or pliers), a small fork and nut pick. After molting, a lobster will have a soft shell and be pliable. If you have a hard shell lobster, a pair of lobster scissors will make short work of cracking the claws and getting the meat out.

Before serving it is best to let a boiled or steamed lobster drain for a minute. It’s a good idea to pierce the tail at the chest of the body with a chef’s knife to allow water to drain faster. Serve the lobster hot.

Twist the claw

A bib is recommended when cracking as you can never tell when some water is likely to spray out right onto your shirt. Make sure you have plenty of towels, too. Melt the butter and slice up some lemon. Put the bib on and you are ready.

Cooked Maine Lobster

Hold the Body and Twist the Lobster Tail

Lobster Scissors

Hold the body of the lobster with one hand and twist the claw off with the other. The claw will break off where it connects to the body.
Crack each claw along its length with the nut cracker or cut with the lobster shell open with the lobster scissors. Remove the meat from the claws by pushing the meat out from the end of the claw with the small fork or pick.
Grab the lobster body again and twist the tail from the body. Pull the flippers from the tail. Crack the tail along its length and push the meat out from one end with the fork. Remove the tail meat in one piece and discard the vein that runs along the length. Next pick the meat from the flippers.
Twist the small legs from the body and remove the meat from the legs with the pick. You can also choose to squeeze the meat from the legs with your teeth.
Lobster Bib Kit
Next separate the shell from the body by pulling the shell apart on the underside. The shell will disconnect from the body exposing the tenderest meat of the lobster. Remove and discard the green substance called the tomalley. Remove the meat from the body and leg joints with a pick.
The rest of the lobster should be discarded.

Note: If found, the roe (red female eggs) are often considered a delicacy and used to make lobster butter or is used in the stuffing for baked stuffed lobster.

© Wayne Howe 2021

Christmas Recipes Cooking lobster and recipes Holidays Lobster

Christmas Eve Baked Stuffed Lobster Recipe Dazzling with Pine Nuts, Dried Apricots and Rosemary

Posted on December 10, 2020

Christmas Eve Baked Stuffed Maine Lobster

Looking to wow the family? Try this Christmas Eve baked-stuffed lobster recipe dazzling with pine nuts, dried apricots and rosemary for a fantastic gourmet holiday feast.

Make sure you start with ocean fresh lobster from Maine. Order for home delivery from your favorite online lobster delivery service. Then gather up the following ingredients.

Let’s Get Ready:

4 1 ½ lb Live Maine lobsters
1 stick butter
1/3 cup pine nuts
1/3 cup finely diced dried apricots
10 oz. brioche, cut into ¾” cubes
1 ½ cups diced celery, diced onion, diced fennel
Dash dried red pepper flakes
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
16 sprigs rosemary

Let’s Start Cooking the Christmas Dinner Lobster:

In a large (16-quart) cook pot, bring 3 cups of water to a roiling boil. Place lobsters one at a time head first into the pot and cover tightly with lid. Cook for seven (7) minutes, making sure to stir the lobster once or twice. Remove the lobsters and set aside and let cool. Save the liquid in the pot. Once cool, use a large chef knife to open the claws and remove the meat. Set meat aside and discard the shells. Twist the body from the tail and slice open the body and remove the insides leaving just the outer shell. Remove the legs from the body shell. Save the shell. Use chef’s scissors to cut the outer edges of the underside of the tail and remove the meat. Discard the cut tail shell piece and save the tail shell. Clean the lobster meat over a bowl to save the juices. Strain 3 cups of the liquid from the pot into the bowl. Dice all the lobster meat except for four of the claws. Leave 4 of the 8 claws whole.

Prepare the stuffing

Bring oven to 350 degrees and toast the brioche until golden brown, about seven to 10 minutes. In a large sauté pan melt the butter over medium heat. Add the pine nuts and apricots and cook, stirring frequently. Cook until apricots have darkened and the pine nuts have toasted to deep brown. Add in the onion, celery and fennel and stir. Cook for three to five minutes until the celery begins to soften. Add the red pepper flake, fresh ground pepper, parsley and a pinch of salt. Add the toasted brioche and toss the mixture. Add three cups of the reserved liquid and combine with mixture. Cook over low heat until the bread has absorbed the liquid, about three to five minutes. Add the diced lobster meat to the mixture and toss to combine. Keep the stuffing warm.

Position the Lobster Shells

Next position the lobster tail shells and body shells on a sheet tray. Fill each shell with a generous portion of the warm stuffing. Place the rosemary aside each shell. Preheat broiler to medium-high and cook for seven to 10 minutes until golden brown. Then add the four claws, one atop each lobster, and cook one more minute. Serve with immediately and enjoy with your favorite wine.

© Wayne Howe 2018

Boston and Cape Cod Events Holidays Lobster Seafood, shellfish and Maine lobster Thanksgiving

Pilgrims Had Lobster on First Thanksgiving

Posted on November 20, 2020

While the New England Lobster feast is a year round tradition older than America itself, New England seafood was a part of the first Thanksgiving. According to historical lore, the pilgrims first learned about the lobster from Native Americans.

Pilgrims Had Lobster at First Thanksgiving

In a letter home to England in 1621, the Pilgrim Edward Winslow wrote of how they fished, hunted and brought in the harvest to set out a feast for the entire pilgrim company and guests, including the Indian King Massasoit and 90 Indians. Winslow wrote that the feast lasted for five days. The Winslow letter was published in England in 1622 causing great excitement and helping to start the tradion of a Thanksgiving feast.

So while turkey has center stage today, the pilgrims first feast gave the lobster clambake a starring role with the turkey. For many New Englanders, the lobster is an alternative part of Thanksgiving. Create your own Thanksgiving clambake this holiday season.

The story is told about how seven Nationally known Boston Chefs eschewed the turkey one year and took the pilgrim lobster tradition to their Thanksgiving Holiday table. An article in Food and Wine Magazine published more than a decade ago tells the story of how the chef’s and their families got together at Lydia Shire’s (Biba, Towne Stove) farmhouse home in Weston, Massachusetts and created a “potluck extravaganza” to revolutionize Thanksgiving dinner.

Chef Todd English (Olives, Figs) brought the lobster and served it in its shell with a warm, creamy nutmeg vinaigrette and a chestnut puree. Every chef contributed, including Jody Adams (Rialto), Gordon Hamersley (Hammersley Bistro), Susan Regis (Biba), Chris Schlesinger (East Coast Grill), and Jasper White (Jaspers, Summer Shack). The menu included the lobster, cod, oysters, pumpkin soup, turkey and more.

First Thanksgiving

While this menu would be overwhelming for most home kitchens, the tradition of holiday feasts with all the wonderful seafood from the cold, clean New England waters can be part of any family celebration this year. Thanksgiving Dinner can be extra special by serving fresh lobster and shellfish. The best part is you no longer have to go to Plimouth Plantation, Cape Cod or Maine to enjoy Maine lobster. Thanks to an online retail lobster delivery service, live Maine lobster can be shipped overnight to any home in the United States.

Let’s eat lobster!

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