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To Boil Lobsters

Lobsters boiled in salted water, then served whole after cracking claws and cutting tail.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 3 ingredients
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To Boil Lobsters

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Choose lively lobsters of medium size.

  2. In a pot, combine water and salt at a ratio of 1 tablespoon salt per quart of water.

  3. Bring the water to a boil.

Boil

  1. Add the lobsters and boil briskly for 30 to 60 minutes, depending on their size.

  2. Remove the scum from the surface and wipe the lobsters with a little butter or sweet oil.

Finish and serve

  1. Crack the claws carefully and cut the tail down the middle.

  2. Serve the body whole.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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

Lobsters
The main substance; its protein firms and turns opaque as it cooks in the hot water.

The step that matters

Boil briskly for the right time. Boiling time must match the lobster's size. Heat tightens the protein, so too long a boil makes the meat tough and rubbery, while too short leaves the flesh soft and not fully set.

“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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