Eating East Coast Lobsters
East coast lobsters or The American Lobster are found in the waters of the Atlantic ocean as far north as Newfoundland and as far south as North Carolina. They live on the ocean floor, hiding in seaweed beds and rocky outcroppings.
Picking Out Your East Coast Lobster
Unlike any other food we eat, we like to pick out our lobster dinner while it is still live. Other than size they pretty much all look alike at first glance so how do you know which one to pick? Some say, not to pick one that is over 7 pounds - lobsters that large tend to have stringy meat and don't taste as good. Another aspect to consider is the shell - a soft shell means that the lobster has just molted and the shells are easy to break apart. Some say the meat is sweeter in a soft shelled lobster, but there will be more meat in a hard shelled.
Cooking Lobster
If you are cooking your east coast lobsters yourself always remember they must be cooked live! The meat spoils very easily so if you have one that has died during transport or storage, don't eat it. Never put your lobster in fresh water! Store them in the fridge before cooking and steam them in salt water for 10 to 15 minutes when they turn the bright red you are used to seeing.
Eating Lobster
East coast lobsters have giant claws which some claim is the best part to eat. Others claim the tail is the best. I love them both! But how do you best get at them? To ge the most out of your lobster, you'll need a nutcracker and a pick. Here's the steps I use to get at the meat:
First twist off the claws - grab them firmly and twist where the joint meats the body, they usually come off pretty easy with a firm touch.
Next separate the claw from the rest of the leg at the knuckle - just twist again and they'll pop apart. There's good meat inside the knuckles so pry that out with a pick.
Now crack open the claw with a nutcracker. Sometimes if the shell isn't too hard, you can pull off the lower hinge of the claw and poke the meat out though the other end. Usually it's just easier to crack the whole thing open.
Grab the tail and uncurl it so it is bent backwards - keep putting pressure on it until it snaps away from the body. You can either cut open the underside of the tail to expose the meat or break off the very end and push the meat out. Don't forget to discard the vein that runs along the top.
Most people just eat the claws and tail of the east coast lobster, but there's many more places where meat can be hidden. You can find meat inside the body (yes, you can eat the green stuff too if you want) and there's little bits inside each of the flippers at the end of the tail. Those skinny legs have eat in them too - just break open one end and suck the meat out!
|
