Lobster

Buying Live Lobster Lobster quality is at its best if it's alive at purchase and cooked the same day. Many markets and grocery stores have live lobsters available, or there are mail-order businesses that will ship live lobster to your door. Knock, knock! Who's there? Orange. Orange who? Orange you glad you're not a lobster? To Kill or Not to Kill? Wondering whether or not to kill a lobster before cooking it? If you ask us, the answer is always yes, and you want to do it quickly and humanely. Place a cutting board into a rimmed baking pan. Place the lobster belly-up or belly-down on the cutting board. Take a sharp, heavy knife, place it tip-downward in the horizontal groove at the head behind the eyes. With one quick motion, cut down and through the head. This will sever the "spinal" chord, killing the lobster instantly. This video shows you how to do it.

Page Contents 1 • • • • • • • • • • • A Brief History of Lobster in Maine Lobsters have been harvested commercially since the mid 1800’s. Before this time, it is clear that lobsters were plentiful and bigger in size and lived much longer than they do today. Magellan’s journals notes that these “creatures” were as thick as “molasses” in some parts of coastal water explored in the old Massachusetts territory, which is now known as Maine. The fishing industry in Maine is second only to timber (per capita). Whereas most pulp and paper activity is controlled by large corporations, the lobster industry is primarily still family-run. This heritage and way of life are to this day passed down from generation to generation. Although a few new technological additions have been added to the mix, little has changed in this culture since lobsters were first commercially harvested since the mid 1800’s It was the New Yorkers and Bostonians that really gave the Maine lobster its place on the culinary map, after they developed a taste of its deliciously sweet and succulent meat. Lobsters nowadays are somewhat synonymous with exclusive restaurants and expensive buffets. We imagine them nestled amongst leafy green salads, drizzled with butter sauces, displayed on pure white porcelain and handled with gold cutlery. Lobster throughout history has been prized as a delicacy, especially throughout Western Europe, as their history stretches from Roman banquet halls to feasts thrown by Tudor monarch...

Lobster Rolls: Classic Summer Feast New Englanders are an understated lot, and you’ll see that reflected in this classic summer feast. Just a few ingredients: large chunks of lobster, mayonnaise, and celery, stuffed into a grilled hot dog bun and eaten on a dock near water on a sparkling day! That’s the essence of summer here, with or without the dock. Proust can have his madeleines. I will take a lobster roll. Sally Vargas What’s the Best Lobster for Lobster Rolls? If you are reading this from Minnesota, I apologize. Freshly cooked New England lobster meat purchased locally really is the best. Frozen or canned lobster meat just isn’t the same as freshly cooked lobster, but if that’s what you have access to, you can still make a tasty roll. • Live Lobster: Typically, if you’re going to cook a live lobster, you want to dip it in butter, not put it in a roll. But if that’s the only way for you to have fresh meat for your roll, and you have the time (and money), then go for it. Check out our post on • Frozen: You can purchase precooked frozen lobster meat or uncooked frozen lobster tail at fish markets. Either one will do the trick. • Mail Order Lobster: If you don’t live in New England and don’t have access to freshly cooked meat or live lobster, but you want to be as authentic as possible, several Maine lobster companies such as For cooked frozen meat, just thaw in the refrigerator before using. For the uncooked frozen tail, the best way to prepare it is to thaw for 24 hour...