Cooking Article

Lobster is an an all-time favourite seafood with most people
and many dishes using lobsters require that the flesh be removed from the shell. Here are some handy tips when you prepare a lobster dish at home.

A preliminary way to prepare a lobster
which should be alive
is to grasp it firmly by the back
plunge it quickly
head first
into a kettle of rapidly boiling water
and then submerge the rest of the body. Be sure to have a sufficient amount of water to cover the lobster completely. Boil rapidly for 5 minutes; then lower the flame or remove to a cooler part of the stove and cook slowly for 1/2 hour. Remove from the water and allow to cool.

After being prepared in this way
a lobster may be served cold or it maybe used in the preparation of various made dishes. If it is to be used without further preparation
it is often served from the shell
which is usually split open. Mayonnaise or some other sauce is generally served with lobster. The flesh is removed from the shell with a small fork as it is eaten.

To remove lobster from the shell
first pull off the two large claws and the four pairs of small claws
and break the tail from the body. Then using scissors
cut a single slit the entire length of the shell covering the under part of the tail and remove the flesh inside the tail in a whole
large piece. The intestinal tract
which can be readily observed
will be found embedded in this piece and running the entire length. Slash the flesh and remove it. Next remove the flesh of the body from the shell
retaining only that part which appears to be fibrous
like the flesh of the tail. The stomach
should not be removed from the shell. However
care should be taken to obtain all the flesh surrounding the bones in the bony part of the lobster. The coral substance
that is
the roe of the lobster
should also be removed
as it can be used for a garnish.

With the flesh removed from the shell
proceed to take out the flesh in the claws. Break open the large claws
using a nut cracker or a small hammer for this purpose
and remove the flesh that they contain. If the small claws are to be used for a garnish
as is often done
remove the flesh without breaking them; otherwise break them as in the case of the large ones.


Nora Maskuri
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