Steamed Lobster

Lobster.  It is unfortunate for those allergic to shellfish or for those who just don’t enjoy it, as I believe this glorious meat from the sea is one of life’s best offerings.  It’s hard to believe that lobster in the United States started off as food for the poor, and that servants protested and created contracts that stated that they would not be forced to eat lobster more than 2-3 times a week.  Also back when it was very plentiful, it used to be used as farming fertilizer and bait for fishing.

Today, I am going to visit on how to properly steam a lobster, including basic preparation instructions and cooking tips.

Lobster has been tried and served in many different ways, but the classic style of steaming them has proved to be the most efficient way, not only in the method of preparation, but in preserving and bringing out the lobster flavor.  Funny thing is that it’s almost a backwards efficiency.  Trying to fortify the stock of boiling or cooking the lobster with wine, herbs, spices, or any other seasoning is fruitless, as it seems that nothing can penetrate the hard lobster shell.  With this in mind, the most efficient way is to simply steam them correctly.

…hard shell lobsters are much meatier than soft shell lobsters. You can determine the difference by squeezing the sides of the lobster’s body. Hard shells will feel brittle and tightly packed while the soft shells will give way to pressure. If soft shelled lobsters are your only choice, buy bigger for more meat!

Side note

Make sure you measure the weight (in pounds) before you get started so you can refer to the chart for how long the lobster should steam for optimal results.

Ingredients:

4 whole lobsters

8 tablespoons of butter

2-3 lemons

1. Insert a wire rack or seaweed bed into the bottom of a large soup kettle for steaming.
2. Fill the kettle with about 1 inch of water and bring it to a boil.  Remove the kettle from the heat.
3. Add the lobsters, cover the kettle, and return water to a boil.
4. Reduce the heat to medium-high and steam until the lobsters are done.
5. While the lobster is steaming, slice up the lemons into wedges and melt the butter.  Melt the butter over medium to medium high heat on the stove top in a sauce pan, or you could even microwave it in a shallow bowl.
6. When the appropriate steaming time is up, remove the lobsters and serve them immediately with the lemon wedges and melted butter.

Lobster can also be cooked with dry-heat, preferably with even steady heat from the oven, instead of broiling, which can cause charring.  Running a skewer through the tail also helps in keeping it from curling with this method.  The difference between the dry heat method versus steaming is that the tail will most likely be tougher with dry heat.

Some of my favorite lobster dishes that can be prepared with chunks of steamed lobster –

Lobster Bisque

Lobster Pot Pie

Lobster Fra Diavolo

Lobster Ravioli

…and so forth!  Bon appétit!