Boiled Lobster
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and add a handful of coarse sea salt.
Brush the lobster and tie its claws together with twine.
Cook the lobster
Carefully place the lobster in the boiling water and cook for 20 to 30 minutes, depending on its size.
Remove the lobster from the boiling water and let it drain on its claws.
Wipe it dry.
Prepare and serve
Split open the body and tail.
Crack the claws.
Remove the meat.
Discard the sand pouch near the throat.
Discard any tough gill-like particles.
Serve the lobster on a platter with lettuce and other salad accompaniments.
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
- Lobster
- The main protein; heat firms its flesh from translucent to opaque white, giving the meat its texture.
The step that matters
Carefully place the lobster in the boiling water. Lowering a cold lobster into water that is at a rolling boil keeps the water temperature high so cooking is even. Overcooking toughens the protein and makes the meat rubbery, so timing by size matters.
“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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