help! lobsters ?!

[dana]

hey everyone! so i belong to a local CSA that provides local farm veggies - and this week they began delivery of fresh fish and natural beef as well. i'm a decent cook - but i have NEVER prepared a live lobster before - and now i have FIVE sitting in a box in my kitchen! ackk!

does anyone know how to cook these suckers?!?! LOL! i have some water boiling now and am getting ready to toss them in ... but any other suggestions would be welcome too!

i'm off to google some recipes as well - but just in case someone has some first-hand experience

[Darcy Baldwin]

Stuffed Lobster - beyond yummy

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/a...ipe/index.html

But - you'd have to cook them up now - and butcher them outside of just the boiling water if you think you can do that.

Also - you can put back the meat to make other dishes with later, even if you can't do them all now.

[dana]

ooh yummy darcy! thanks for the link

[Traci Reed]

I'm such a wuss, this makes me cringe....though I looooove lobster... Dana, you can just cook mine for me, mmmkay?

[mariewilcox]

Wellllll, I am from Maine. Are your lobsters our kind with the large claws? Or are they the OTHER kind that have wimpy little claws?

Honestly, the best way to eat them is hot boiled straight from the pot with drawn butter (melted salted butter). That's it.

If you can't eat them tonight and need ideas for what to do with the meat after it's been cooked, one is lazy lobster. After they are cooked let them cool until you can get all the meat out. If they're Maine/northeastern lobsters make sure you get all the claw and knuckle meat as well as the tail. My daughter loves to suck the meat out of the legs.

For lazy lobster you need some kind of shallow baking dish - individual size or large. Take Ritz crackers and pulverize them in a food processor and put them in the baking dish. Take the lobster meat and chop into large chunks - dont' make it into small pieces. Do a quick saute in a pan with some butter and white wine dash of salt. Pour lobster and liquid from the pan on top of the crushed crackers and bake in a hot oven (450 or even broil) until the liquid is bubbly - not more than 5-8 minute. Eat.

LOBSTER ROLL - take clear meat (nothing added to it like celery, onion, etc.) and chop into large chunks. Toast/grill a hot dog bun. Put a very little bit of shredded lettuce on bottom and top with meat and a dollop of mayo. Eat.

In my humble opinion, the less you do to a lobster the better - but then I'm a Mainah who is a lobster purist!

ETA - Probably too late now because you've already cooked them, but don't OVERCOOK them! They don't take long at all 10-12 minutes, depending on how big they are.

[dana]

haha marie - i live in boston, so they were caught off the cape ... w/ large claws

i did boil all 5 and it was easier than i thought - i was a little squeamish at first! haha! so go ahead and send yours on over traci

i think i'll do two different dinners - a fra diavalo (sp?) pasta tonight w/ lobster meat - and then your recipe sounds nice and easy - marie, so i'll try that tomorrow ....

and i'll be getting more in later weeks, so i'll try darcy's recipe then! woohoo!

[mariewilcox]

LOL Dana - they are easy but messy to eat! My daughter loves boiled but her next favorite is with linguine and a cream sauce - enjoy!

Oh, and on the lazy lobster, the more butter and wine the better You want it to soak up the crumbs and bubble up around the lobster

[Milmomma]

Did they scream?? (I'm a squishmish one, and a wuss. I couldn't do it)

[dana]

Originally Posted by Milmomma

Did they scream?? (I'm a squishmish one, and a wuss. I couldn't do it)

no - they totally did not! that must be an urban legend b/c i was afraid of that too ... it was really MUCH easier than i expected - just like throwing a non-living thing in the pot ...

[mariewilcox]

Yeah, I have never heard a lobster scream - LOL. You can actually hypnotize them before you put them in the pot too - really! You stand them on their heads/claws and stroke the underside of their tails and they stop moving - hehehe.

[BrattyMeg]

you can also stick them in the freezer for a few mins and it makes them unconscious then boil em

my fave is just boiled with butter!

[glumirk]

Being some here! We've been here for 2.5 years and I still haven't had lobster outside of a roll! Is there a lobster season when they are better or less expensive?

[mariewilcox]

There isn't really a "season" per se - prices depend on different variables from weather to how far out they have to go to trap them, how much gas is, etc. etc. You just have to watch prices at the market.

However, there is soft shell season and hard shell season. It's a matter of personal preference on which you like. Hard shell lobsters have more meat in them. Soft shell lobsters have just shedded their shell to grow a new larger shell. The meat is sweeter and you can break the shells with your hands instead of using crackers, but there is less meat in them. In NH you will most likely have hard shell because soft shells don't transport well.

[kendallt]

This thread is making me giggle! Reminds me of this scene from the movie Julie and Julia.

[mariewilcox]

OMG Kendall! I had forgotten all about the scene! I loved that movie!