How to cook a lobster – some tips

(Lobster is graded as king of seafood among seafood lovers.  Its juicy claws and tender tails lobster meat has a delicious flavour)

 From char grilled in bisque (soup) in a thermidor to even over a pizza, the thick meat is succulent and tastes a little like shrimp.  Here some tips and tricks to get maximum.

 Buying a Lobster

-When you pick a lobster up in your hand its tail should curl.

-Make sure that there are both claws in place.

-The lobster should not have signs of discoloration

-The harder the shell on the lobster means that it will have more meat and softer shells have sweeter meat.

 Try steaming it:

While boiling and steaming are the two ways to make a lobster, steaming is better

than boiling.  Not only does the meat come out sweeter this way but it also retains the flavour of the lobster.   When you need a partially cooked lobster meat for a dish, try parboiling.  This will cook the lobster in a small amount of time so that the meat can be extracted from the shell, Chilled and reused latter in a recipe.

 Removing the meat:

Holding the body of the lobster firmly, twist the claw off with one hand and the legs as well.  Keep them aside.  Hit the claws with a heavy knife until it cracks.  Remove the pincer from the claw and break the claw into three sections.  Crack it open and ease out the meat. Do the same for the pincers.  For the body, insert the knife into the middle of the body and go lengthwise and open it out.  Discard the stomach sac, feather gills and black intestinal thread. Remember out to ease out the tail halves in whole.

 Storing Lobster:

It is best to cook a live Lobster immediately.  If you want to cook them at a later time, keep the lobsters alive by wrapping them in a damp towel and chilling them.  However, cooked lobster meat can be stored in the refrigerator up to three days.

 pic courtesy:http://0.tqn.com/y/gonewengland/1/W/q/4/2/grilled-lobster-lg.jpg