HOW TO COOK A LOBSTER
Jeremiah Tower Cooks

Kill the lobster by holding it with a gloved hand at the front of
the tail and back of the main body, and with other hand cut a
half-inch wide and inch-deep slit into the shell, jiggling the
knife backwards and forwards to sever the spinal cord. Leave the
lobster for ten minutes before cooking it.

The best way to keep lobster for up to two days is to put them in
boiling water for two minutes, then in a colander covered with ice
until they are cold. Then refrigerate. When ready to eat, cook as
normal, accounting for the two minutes the lobsters have already
been cooked.

COOKING LOBSTER TO BE REHEATED

Put the lobsters in a pot and pour in cold water to cover them by
6 inches.  Turn the heat to high and cook until the water is just
about to boil. Turn off the heat and let the lobsters sit according
to the times below. Then remove the lobsters, and put them in a
colander, and cover them with ice to stop the cooking and cool them.

1-pound lobsters: 1 minute
2-pound lobsters: 3 minutes
3-pound lobsters: 4 minutes

The meat yield will depend on the time of year and the thickness
of the shell, but generally a 1-pound lobster yields 6 to 8 ounces,
a 2-pound lobster 18 to 20 ounces, and a 3-pound lobster 1 1/2
pounds.

COOKING LOBSTER COMPLETELY TO SERVE WHOLE (HOT OR COLD), OR IN SALADS

Put the lobsters in a pot and pour cold water over them to cover
by 6 inches. Turn the heat to high and cook until the water is about
to boil. Turn off the heat and let the lobster sit according to
the times below. Then remove the lobsters. For cold lobster meat,
put the lobsters in a colander and cover with ice to cool them down
and stop their cooking.

1-pound lobsters: 7 minutes
2-pound lobsters: 12 minutes
3-pound lobsters: 20 minutes

REMOVING LOBSTER MEAT

Take the lobster apart and remove the meat from the shell over a
bowl so that you save all those flavorful juices. As you remove
each piece of meat, put it on a large plate or platter so that the
pieces lie flat and separate from one another.  Save all the shells
for soup, sauces, fish  and shellfish stews; if not using them right
away, put them in sealed plastic and freeze.

First, twist off the small legs, cutting off and discarding the
feathery gill sticking to the knuckle ends. Keep the legs on the
platter with the lobster meat.

Twist off the two claw arms and tist off the claws. With a pair of
scissors or poultry shears, cut down the length of the (knuckle)
arms, and pull out the meat.

Twist off the flaps at the end of the tail and reserve (bigs ones
have wionderfully juicy lobster meat inside). Twist off the tail
and cut through the soft shell in the underside of the tail with a
knife or scissors, being careful to cut only the shell and not the
tail meat. Hold the tail in both hands on the table and break it
open.  Lift out the meat. Make a 1/8-inch deep cut down the center
of the outside curve of the tail meat and pick out the intestinal
tract.

Crack the claws with a mallet. Move the small, lower part of the
claw around and slowly pull it away from the larger part of the
claw. With luck it will come away and leave the thin meat of the
little claw intact. Now all you have to do is get the big shell off
the meat, so very gently pull out (or cut out, shake out, or lift
out) the claw meat in one piece if possible. If the lobster is in
a soft shell-stage, you can use scissors to cut away all the meat
from the lobster meat.

Lift the main shell (the curved top with eyes and feelers) off of
the central bidy of the lobster, scoop out any of the white fat
clinging toi the shell, and reserve it (frozen or refrigerated) for
sauces. Remove the mouth sac at the head of the shell and discard.
Scoop out any dark green eggs (if the loster is female), and the
liver, or tomalley (green, and both male and female have it), and
reserve (frozen or refrigerated) for sauces. Keep the shell either
for stock or display. The white main body part has the feathery
lungs, so remove those and discard. Rinse off what is left of the
body and save for lobster or shellfish broth.