To Boil a Lobster
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare the water
Fill a large pot with water and add 2 tablespoons of coarse sea salt for every quart of water.
Bring the water to a rolling boil.
Cook and serve
Carefully add the live lobster to the boiling water.
Boil the lobster for about 8‑10 minutes until it turns bright red.
Remove the lobster from the pot and let it cool before serving.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Live lobster
- Its meat is the main component, becoming opaque and firm as the proteins set during boiling.
- Coarse sea salt
- Seasons the cooking water so the lobster meat takes on some flavor as it cooks.
The step that matters
Boil the lobster for about 8-10 minutes. Overcooking toughens the proteins and makes the meat rubbery, while undercooking leaves it translucent and unsafe. Watching for the bright red color and firm, opaque meat helps you time it well.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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