How long should I boil lobster????!
Answers: It is a whole lobster....Thanks
Easy, bring water to a full rolling boil and place the lobster, lobsters in the water. Boil for about 15 minutes. Then reduce heat or remove from heat and let reast for an additional 2-3 minutes.
Then crack and dip in clarified butter. To clarify butter melt butter in a sauce pan and skim off milky looking butter leaving the cleaner looking butter.
The great news is that if you over cook the lobster you can split it, de-shell it to a point, dip it in butter, sprinkle with a bit of pepper and place on the grill for about 3 minutes to give it grill marks.
Hope this helps.
BOILED LOBSTER
For 4 lobsters: In large kettle fill with 3/4 full of water. Let water come to a full boil. Put in 2 lobsters at a time and boil about 18 to 20 minutes. Remove from pot and let cool a little. Remove lobster meat from tail and claws. Dip in melted butter not butter.
Depends on the size of the lobster. A good rule of thumb is about 10-15 minutes per pound.
1 pound lobster 12-15 minutes
1 1/2 pound 15-20 minutes
2-3 pounds 20-25 minutes
3 1/2-5 pounds 25-30 minutes
Yum Yum!!
Fill a large pot with about an inch of water, when it comes to a boil, toss the lobster in and cover immediatly. The lobster will cook in about 15-18 minutes. The rule is, when you can smell the lobster- its about done. Letting the lobster cool out of the pot for about 10 minutes will continue to steam the lobster perfectly and it'll be easier to crack open when its cooled down.
If you are squeamish at all then cooking Lobster is just not for you, it is an ongoing argument with some pretty strange solutions.
The main problem is that Shellfish of any kind have a tendancy to go off very quickly and, olafactorily speaking, dramatically! With this in mind most books will advise that shellfish are purchased / cooked while still alive.
In the case of fairly inanimate shellfish such as mussels, cockles, clams and the like this is no real hardship for the cook, (and no-one can be sure of how the shellfish feel about this!) however when we get into the realms of large, extremely animate creatures like crabs and Lobsters then things begin to get more interesting.
Most cooks / chefs (author included) hold with the thoery that the Lobster and it's reletives have no complex sensations of pain, this however is in no way possible to prove conclusively and is up to the individuals conscience, it remains a fact however that there is little difference between dying quickly or slowly both have the same net effect and I would subscribe to the theory that a quick death would be preferable to any form of slow torture.
First, and my preferred method, is to select a pan large enough to take the whole lobster and with a tight fitting lid. Put enough water in the pan to cover the lobster and bring it to the boil. Take your Lobster, and your courage, in hand and drop it into the boiling water. Quickly place the lid on the pan and be prepared to hold it down as the Lobster tends to splash about a bit, (this is the bit that disturbs most people including me) Simmer for approx 5 min per lb of Lobster then drain and plunge into cold water to stop the cooking process. Job done!
Other methods include most parts of the above but include first attempting to kill the Lobster "humanely"
It has been suggested that standing the Lobster on its head for a few mins will stun it sufficiently to relieve any pain or distress. I would say to these people that if they are able to make a live Lobster stand on it's head then
A/ The lobster is clearly not very fresh!
B/ The Lobster is already dead!
C/ The lobster is a rubber squeaky toy, (to check squeeze firmly and listen)
As I have already said these creatures do not take kindly or quietly to manhandling and certainly should not allow themselves to be stood on their heads.
Another method of "Humane Killing" I have read about is to poke a needle into the Lobster's eyes and thus into it's brain to kill it. I ask you, which would you prefer?
And finally there is the, "Cut the head in half with a knife" method which is the method recommended if you require raw Lobster flesh for any dish. It is true however that, should you require raw flesh then remove the Lobster from the pot in method #1 after only 1 min at which point the Lobster will be dead and not cooked.
Once your lobster is dead you can grill or bake it; you could also steam it