Shell Fish
Ingredients
Directions
Cook the lobster
Boil the lobster in salted water for 20 to 30 minutes until firm and red.
Break off the large claws and separate the upper jointed part, draining the liquid into a cup.
Remove the small claws and pull the tail from the body.
Extract the meat
Crack the large claws and joints with a mallet, then remove the meat with a fork.
Use a nut-pick or skewer to help extract meat from the joints.
Scrape any white fat from the shells onto a plate.
Lay the tails flat and cut nearly through lengthwise, removing the black line in the center.
Ensure to remove the black line running the length of the lobster.
Pull the bodies from the shell and scrape the green fat (tomalley) and coral onto a plate.
Break the bodies lengthwise and remove the meat, avoiding any bony substance.
Save the best small claws for garnish and add the rest to the shells.
Remove the sand pouch near the throat and ensure no tough gill-like particles mix with the meat.
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
The step that matters
Boiling the lobster for the right time. Overcooking toughens the proteins in the meat, making it rubbery, while undercooking leaves it soft and unsafe to eat. Watching for firm, red shells helps judge doneness.
“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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