Boiling fresh Maine Lobsters to Perfection

The price has finally gone down to make it somewhat affordable to eat. Last time I checked, seafood markets were asking for $20 a lb here and on my recent visit, it came down to $6.99 a lb!

The secret to cooking lobster to perfection is to poach them, do not boil them! When you boil lobster, they will get too stiff and over-boiling will cause them to release all the white protein/fat which has full of flavor. Aside from poaching them, you must use a large enough pot so the lobsters aren't crowded in the pot and season the water with salt!

Usually you want to boil the lobster at about 7.5 - 8 min / lb. If you have multiple lobsters, the total cooking time is still based on one lobster. So if you have two lobsters that weigh on average 1.5 lbs, then the total cooking time would be 11.25 - 12 min.

You usually want to fill your pot 3/4 full as you want your lobster to be fully submerged while it's "poaching". To figure out how many lobsters you can cook in your pot, you can do this calculation:

Total # of Quarts / 1.5 = Total # of Lbs of Lobster you can cook at one time

Say if your pot 3/4 filled is 5 quarts then you can cook up to 3.33 lbs of lobster at one time. This means if you have two lobsters that are about 1.5 lb each then it's safe to cook both of them at the same time!

How much salt to season the water do you need?

~ 1/3 cup of salt per gallon

How do I insert the lobster into the pot?

Ensure the water in the pot is boiling and then plunge the lobster head first to instantly kill them.

Tips:

• return the pot to a slow rolling boil and do not cover the pot with a lid
• if you want lobster eggs, try to get female lobsters
• heat up some butter and minced garlic as your dip!

  How to differentiate between a male and a female lobster?

FEMALE: tiny, soft thin legs

MALE: thick, hard legs

Finished Product!

Cheers!