Culinary Bytes…
How To Cook Lobster
Tail: A Beginner’s Primer
Dining on lobster is as ritualistic
as eating can get. Generations have
learned to crack, puncture, rip, dig and suck out every piece of flesh from the
smallest knuckle to the honeycomb chambers of the innards, always leaving the
best for last---the tail. But for
ordinary folks, why not just cook and eat the tail?
The gold standard of lobster
tails is the one that belongs to the Homerus americanus, the North Atlantic
lobster also known widely by lobster aficionados as the Maine lobster, or in
Gloucester as the Massachusetts lobster, in Providence as the Rhode Island
lobster or in the Atlantic provinces of Canada, you guessed it, as the Canadian
lobster. The bountiful seafood of the cold
water of the North Atlantic ensures that the meat of the Maine lobster is succulent
and sweet. After all, Maine lobsters
feast on many of the same sea creatures for which we humans pay dearly at top
of the line, fine dining establishments.
Crabs, scallops, clams, fin fish, shrimp, mussels, seaweed and sea
urchins as well as the ever present plankton are all part of their diet, the
resulting buttery flavored sweetness of cooked lobster substantial proof of the
phrase you are what you eat.
If this is your first time
dining on lobster tail, I recommend you cook the whole live lobster, skip the
ritual and go for the tail. You will be
rewarded with the freshest, sweetest, most tender lobster meat possible. So, if you want to know how to cook lobster tail, and find out what all the fuss is about, pick
out your North Atlantic lobster from a tank in a store, order it online from a
lobster pound or take a trip Downeast and wait at the dock, but whichever you
do, forgo the ritual, go for the tail.
Simply Boiled Lobster
This recipe is the primer for how to cook lobster tail. It
uses two 1-1/4 pound live lobsters. Cooking
time depends on size of the lobsters so if you go for a larger or smaller one,
you will need to adjust the cooking time.
Even though you are only going to eat the tail, cook the whole
lobster. Like any fish or meat, cutting
it (or in this case, dismembering it) after cooking, always provides a more
tender piece of flesh. Since you are
only going to eat the cooked tail, break up the rest of the cooked lobster into
pieces, leaving the shell on, bag it and freeze it. Lobster bodies are great for stocks, soups,
and sauces.
Yield : 2
servings Preparation Time : 5 minutes Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients
2-1 ¼ pound lobsters alive and kicking
Large pot of boiling water
Unsalted butter
Seaweed (if possible
get seawater and seaweed to add to the boiling water)
No salt, spices or herbs are used. If the lobster is alive and fresh, the
saltiness of the shell is all you need.
Directions
Bring the water to a rolling boil. Place the live lobsters in the water leaving
enough room for the water to maintain a rolling boil. In other words, don’t pack them in. Do not remove the rubber bands from the
claws. It isn’t called the crushing claw
for nothing! Boil for 10 minutes, remove
and let the lobsters rest for 5 minutes.
The red color is the result of a chemical change that takes place in the
hot water. It is not indicative of
doneness.
To remove the tail, pick up the body and hold it in one
hand. With the other hand grab onto the
tail where it meets the body and tear it with a downward twist. The tail should easily dislodge from the
body. Do this over a bowl as the body
cavity will be filled with water. Turn
the tail on its back and lay it flat.
With a sharp knife, cut through the underside of the shell, but not through
the meat. Widen the opening enough to
pull the meat out in one solid piece.
Recommended service:
Have unsalted butter melted and ready for dipping! Serve with corn on the cob and a creamy cole
slaw for a traditional Downeast meal.
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