How to Cook Lobster Fit for a Fancy Dinner Celebration
Learn how to cook a lobster from start to finish with our easy, 30-minute instructions.
Fact checked by Khara Scheppmann
Cooking a whole lobster seems intimidating, but it's a handy culinary skill that you'll be able to show off whenever you're tasked with creating a special-occasion meal. And the good news is that it's not all that difficult, particularly if you break it down into simple steps. Here, we're walking you through each step of how to cook live lobster so you can serve up a restaurant-worthy meal.
Follow our guide below to learn everything you'll need to know about how to cook live lobster, including how to buy lobster, how to separate the meat from the shell, and how long to cook lobster.
Step 1: Prep and Boil Lobsters
For two 1- to 1½-pound lobsters, bring 8 quarts of salted water (use about ½ cup of salt) to a boil in a 20-quart or larger pot, such as a canning pot, with a lid. The size of the cooking pot ($25, Target) is key because the lobsters need to fit completely inside with the lid closed.
Grasp each lobster just behind the head and rinse under cold running water.
Quickly plunge lobsters headfirst into the boiling water and cover the pot.
Boil for 15 minutes (start timing right away even though it takes a few minutes for the water to return to boiling), adjusting the heat as necessary to maintain a steady boil. For larger lobsters, increase boiling time. Drain lobsters and remove any bands on the large claws.
Test Kitchen Tip
Lobsters turn bright red and the tails turn under when they are done. You can also pull off a small leg or long antennae—they should come off easily when the lobster is done.
Get Our Easy Boiled Lobster Recipe
Step 2: Remove the Meat
When the lobsters are cool enough to handle, place each lobster on its back. Remove the tail by twisting the tail and body in opposite directions.
Related: How to Butterfly Lobster Tails in 3 Steps
Use kitchen scissors ($25, Williams Sonoma) to cut the membrane from the tail to expose the meat. Remove and discard the black vein running through the tail. Remove meat from the tail.
Twist the claws where they join the body to remove them. Break open the claws with a nutcracker.
Pull the claw meat from the shell with a gentle tug. Crack the shell on the remaining part of the body, and remove the meat with a small fork. Serve the lobster meat with clarified butter or beurre blanc (white wine butter sauce).
Test Kitchen Tip
Some people eat the green tomalley (liver) and the coral roe (bright orange eggs found inside female lobsters), but others might want to discard them.
How to Buy Fresh Lobster
Lobster is one of those rare foods that you cook from a live state (this is because bacteria can multiply quickly once on the carcass, so boiling them quickly can reduce the risk of food poisoning). Make sure the lobsters you buy are from a trusted source and are still alive and moving when you purchase them. If you pick up a live lobster, the tail will curl under the body. The most popular lobsters in the United States are harvested from the Gulf of Maine and are known for their sweet meat which tastes great in lobster recipes. Although lobsters are available year-round, pricing is seasonal. Live lobsters have a mottled appearance with a greenish-blue-brown cast. Buy lobsters the day you plan to fix them, and store them in seawater or wrapped in a wet cloth over ice in the refrigerator until cooking time.
If you're heading to the fish market and wondering what size lobster to get, plan on one 1- to 1½-pound lobster per person. This will yield about 4 to 6 ounces of meat per serving. Have leftovers? Turn that delicious meat into lobster rolls by stirring it together with a little mayo, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
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