Lovin’ Lobster!

I wanted to surprise my husband, Jerry, by getting a couple of big, fat lobsters shipped in from Maine. My new favorite purveyor of fancy food, D’Artagnan was able to help.

Today is my birthday and we have been celebrating all weekend. I decided to make it his birthday, too so had these lobsters flown in to kick off our celebration. The lobsters arrived on Friday afternoon and Friday night we had a lobster (or in Boston lobstah) feast. I decided to do something very simple (hardly needs a recipe) as it has been so long since we have had lobster that I wanted to truly just taste the lobster.

Here they are (two 1 1/2 pounders) all cooked.

This time of year the lobster shells are hard and lobsters are very meaty. Lobsters shed their shells about twice a year; known as molting. After they molt, their size increases by about 20%. They generally molt in late spring/early summer so by this time of year their shells are hard again.

When they molt their shells split where the tail meets the head and they wriggle out leaving the shell behind. Sometimes they eat their own shells as apparently they know they are in need of calcium after the molt. The newly molted lobsters, known as “shedders”, have a very soft shell. They can be eaten just like soft shelled crab. I have had soft shelled crab, but never eaten a soft shelled lobster, shell and all. I would like to try it.

WHY ARE MAINE LOBSTERS THE BEST?

The cold water of the Atlantic creates the best flavor, texture and nutritional value making the “meat” sweet and less salty. There are 49 species of lobsters in the world and Maine is known to have the best.

Some people are squeamish about boiling lobster. I always thank the live lobster for giving his/her life for our supper and then quickly drop them into boiling water after saying the prayer.

It is important that you have enough vigorously boiling water to cover all the lobsters you are going to cook. I believe they die very quickly if you drop them in head first. They cook quickly; about 10 minutes for two 1 1/2 lb. lobsters. The shells will turn very pink once cooked. Do not overcook or the meat becomes tough and if you undercook they are hard to remove from the shells.

Once they are boiled, remove from the pot, but do not throw out the cooking liquid. Let the lobsters totally cool before attempting to remove from the shells.

Once cooled, break the tail away from the bodies. Remove the claws; break off the tail fins; and remove the swimmerets; aka walking legs. Separate the claws from the knuckle joint and using a cracker, break the claws to remove the meat. The claw contains a spine, which also must be pulled out.

Do not worry if they don’t come out whole, but it is fun when they do.

I think the knuckles are the sweetest and juiciest part of the lobster, but these are not the easiest to remove. Do not overlook the meat in the tail fin, as that is also delicious.

Look at all that lobster meat!!

The swimmerets are a bit more challenging. If you don’t mind touching your food when you eat, you can also break them at each joint and suck the lobster meat out. It works pretty well and they are tasty bites.

I decided to use them to further flavor the sauce, but also removed the meat from them next day to make a lobster salad, as these lobsters were so big that we didn’t eat them all first night.

Grill the lobster roll, or in this case lobster bun, with butter. Simply chop up the lobster, add mayo, salt and pepper.

I happened to have some beautiful homemade buns in the freezer so used them for the lobster rolls.

Go to: https://cookwithcindy.com/2016/07/04/homemade-hamburger-buns-ready-in-a-blink/

This is a fast and easy recipe; freezes well, and is really delicious. It is posted on the old blogsite, so you will not be able to JUMP to recipe or PRINT without copying and pasting.

ON TO THE COOKING!

Bring a large lobster pot filled with generously salted water to a full boil. Plunge the lobsters head first into the water and boil for about 10 minutes. Once cooked, the shells should be very pink. Remove with tongs and cool completely.

Once they are cooled, break the lobsters down and remove the meat. I always start with claws, but there is no magic to this. I then move on to tails. Remove the tail fins and then using your finger push the meat out of the tail from tail fin end to top. If it is stubborn you can also use kitchen shears to cut the tail shells on each side-top and bottom-separate and remove the meat.

The meat easily gets pinched out of the little tail fins, but they can also be cut to remove the meat.

Don’t forget the bodies!

Flip the bodies over and break apart down the center using your hands or kitchen shears. The meat is tucked inside of each “rib” section.

Crack them open and using your fingers you will find the lobster meat between the “ribs” and scrape it all out. Some people do not bother with the bodies, but really with the price of lobster I want to get every last scrap. Plus, each portion of the lobster has a slightly different flavor and texture all adding to the complexity and deliciousness of your final dish.

Break the knuckles at each joint and using a lobster pick, remove the meat.

This time I did not make my own pasta, but the Buitoni brand of fresh pasta is excellent. Have the pasta out at room temperature.

Remove one quart of liquid from the lobster pot and heat to boiling. Add the fresh pasta and cook for about 3 minutes. Drain the pasta and set aside.

In a large heavy-bottomed skillet (I like cast iron), heat about 1/4 cup Olive Oil and 3 Tbsp. butter. Add one whole clove garlic (not smashed) add 1/2 tsp. dried tarragon. Drop in the lobster and add 6 Tbsp. of the lobster water. At this point I added 2 more Tbsp. of butter as the sauce seemed to need it, for a total of 5 Tbsp., which created a lovely sauce.

Cook this down for about 5 minutes and then add the pasta.

Stir well and cook on medium-low heat for another ten minutes until pasta, sauce and lobster is thoroughly mixed.

Taste and season with salt and pepper.

That’s it! So simple. It’s all about the lobster. I often make a lobster pasta dish with a creamy tomato sauce, but this time wanted the lobster to shine. If you’d like that recipe, go to:

https://cookwithcindy.com/2014/11/21/birthday-bliss/

This one is also from the old blog so scroll down and copy and paste.

LOBSTER IS A SPECIAL TREAT!

INDULGE ON BIRTHDAYS, HOLIDAYS OR ANY DAY YOU ARE IN THE LOBSTER MOOD!

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5 from 1 vote

Lobster Pasta

This dish is all about the lobster. Clean, simple and delicious!

Ingredients

• 2 1 1/2 lb. Fresh live lobsters
• 1 lb. Fresh pasta I used fettuccini, but any fresh noodle would work. You will not need this much to serve two.
• 1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 5 Tbsp. Butter
• 6 Tbsp. Water from Lobster pot
• 1/2 tsp. Tarragon
• Salt/Pepper to taste

Instructions

• Bring a large lobster pot filled with salted water to a roiling boil.
• Plunge the lobsters in, head first and cook for about 10 minutes until lobsters turn very pink.
• Remove the lobsters from the water and cool completely. Do not throw out the lobster water.
• Once the lobsters have cooled, remove the meat and set aside.
• Bring one quart of the lobster water to a boil and cook the fresh pasta for about 3 minutes until al dente. Remove from the water and set aside the pasta.
• In a heavy bottomed skillet heat 1/4 cup olive oil and 5 Tbsp. butter. Add 1/2 tsp. tarragon and all of the lobster meat. Stir well. Cook for about 5 minutes until the lobster is thoroughly coated with oil and butter.
• Add 6 Tbsp. lobster water to even out the sauce and then stir in the cooked pasta and cook for another 10 minutes stirring until well combined.
• Serve in big bowls with steamed asparagus or veg of choice.