LonghornLawyer
500+ Posts
So last night was the girlfriend's birthday, and I believe in the grand romantic gesture of hunting, killing, and cooking dinner for one's romantic interest. So I stalked the wild lobster down at Central Market and picked up three 1.5 pounders.
Let me go back a bit. My experience with cooking my own lobsters has been a bit mixed, I must confess. I don't have a pot large enough to boil three lobsters whole at the same time, but doing them one at a time leads to timing issues. I could do them all together on the grill, but I prefer the taste of the boiled lobster. But my boiled lobsters are never quite as tasty as at some restaurants.
Then I figured it out. The best lobster I have ever had is at the Ogunquit Lobster Pound in Ogunquit, Maine. Part of the trick is that they are so fresh. But I am convinced that a big part of the secret is that they are done in such high volume. The restaurant seats at least 300 people, and all of them order lobster. So they have a couple of huge pots in boiling water for cooking the lobsters. Of course, with that many lobsters going, after awhile they are less boiling in water than they are boiling in the rendered remains of their crustacean comrades.
That's the key.
My pot is only big enough for one lobster at a time. But that's perfect for this method. I put in water until the pot was about 2/3 full, added about six teaspoons of salt and a bottle of Shiner (after all, just because the lobster has to boil to death doesn't mean he shouldn't enjoy the experience). I brought that to a rolling boil and one by one dropped the lobsters in for three minutes.
After three minutes, I took the first lobster out and put in the second. Three minutes isn't enough to cook them, but it is easily enough to kill them. While the next one was going, I cut off the tail and claws (at the shoulder, leaving the knuckles on the claw). After all three were done, I put the bodies back in the water for about fifteen minutes.
At the end of that fifteen minutes, I removed the bodies and tossed them to the cat. So what I was left with was a nice lobster stock--just like the Lobster Pound. I tossed all of the tails and claws back in for five minutes. Since there was no body, they all fit in together with no problem.
They came out and I plated them with a risotto and asparagus. They were, bar none, the sweetest lobsters I have ever cooked (boiled, grilled, or otherwise), and I'm convinced it was a function of the stock. And best of all--they all came out at the same time ready for quick plating.
Let me go back a bit. My experience with cooking my own lobsters has been a bit mixed, I must confess. I don't have a pot large enough to boil three lobsters whole at the same time, but doing them one at a time leads to timing issues. I could do them all together on the grill, but I prefer the taste of the boiled lobster. But my boiled lobsters are never quite as tasty as at some restaurants.
Then I figured it out. The best lobster I have ever had is at the Ogunquit Lobster Pound in Ogunquit, Maine. Part of the trick is that they are so fresh. But I am convinced that a big part of the secret is that they are done in such high volume. The restaurant seats at least 300 people, and all of them order lobster. So they have a couple of huge pots in boiling water for cooking the lobsters. Of course, with that many lobsters going, after awhile they are less boiling in water than they are boiling in the rendered remains of their crustacean comrades.
That's the key.
My pot is only big enough for one lobster at a time. But that's perfect for this method. I put in water until the pot was about 2/3 full, added about six teaspoons of salt and a bottle of Shiner (after all, just because the lobster has to boil to death doesn't mean he shouldn't enjoy the experience). I brought that to a rolling boil and one by one dropped the lobsters in for three minutes.
After three minutes, I took the first lobster out and put in the second. Three minutes isn't enough to cook them, but it is easily enough to kill them. While the next one was going, I cut off the tail and claws (at the shoulder, leaving the knuckles on the claw). After all three were done, I put the bodies back in the water for about fifteen minutes.
At the end of that fifteen minutes, I removed the bodies and tossed them to the cat. So what I was left with was a nice lobster stock--just like the Lobster Pound. I tossed all of the tails and claws back in for five minutes. Since there was no body, they all fit in together with no problem.
They came out and I plated them with a risotto and asparagus. They were, bar none, the sweetest lobsters I have ever cooked (boiled, grilled, or otherwise), and I'm convinced it was a function of the stock. And best of all--they all came out at the same time ready for quick plating.
