While steaming and boiling may be the most common methods, grilling lobster is a surprisingly easy way to cook the popular crustacean. A quick cleaver through the body kills the lobster instantly and painlessly. (To preserve its freshness, this step should be done immediately before cooking.)

If serving grilled lobster as a main course, count on at least one 1-pound lobster per person (though you can get away with less if you’re also grilling an assortment of other seafood). And don’t ditch the precious shells when you’re finished! Instead, freeze and then use them to make a rich lobster stock, which is the perfect base for bisque and other seafood soups and sauces.

Featured in “The Heat Down Under.”

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Jeremy Lee, the chef of London’s Quo Vadis and the author of Cooking: Simply and Well, for One or Many, saves his lobster feasting for when he’s at home on the Scottish coast, where he and his family have long plucked the local crustaceans from fishermen’s tanks at the pier in Cairn. Lee takes great care to pick every sweet morsel from the shells, and finds that this simple oven-roasted dish requires no accompaniment. Better by far to enjoy it with a plate of asparagus or oysters beforehand, or perhaps a salad.

Featured in “A Scottish Lobster Recipe That’s Worth the Wait.”

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Cookbook author Stacy Adimando buys fresh, live lobster and good-quality buns for the most delicious lobster rolls. For the best possible results, look for live crustaceans from Maine that come with all their claws and antennae intact, and make sure to butter and toast the fresh buns on a griddle before filling and serving. Find all of our favorite lobster recipes here.

What You Will Need

• Large Pot
• Cast Iron Skillet
• Small Saucepan

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Cooking any seafood can be a daunting task. Without the proper know-how, it’s easy to go from perfectly done to overcooked in a matter of minutes. Lobsters are no exception, and the stress of cooking them is only magnified by their hefty price point and the fact that they’re so often reserved for special occasions—to say nothing of the fact that cooking one requires you to wrangle a live animal to get dinner on the table! I’ve prepared these creatures in restaurants using a variety of different methods over the years, but wanted to zero in on the very best way to do it, so I reached out to Curt Brown, a professional Maine lobsterman and marine biologist. “The beauty of lobster is that it is sustainable, delicious, and so simple to cook,” he reassured. “If you can boil water, you can cook a lobster.” Really all you’ll need is a tall pot, tongs, shears, and a cracker. Armed with Brown’s simple tips, even a beginner can learn how to cook a lobster—and extract all of its delectable meat—like a pro.

Step 1: Prepare your lobster.

Fill your tallest pot with an inch or two of water and add a couple of tablespoons of sea salt (or, if you’re cooking beachside, just use sea water). Cover with a lid and set the pot over high heat. 

Once a crustacean dies, it begins decomposing rapidly, so for the best, safest results, you’re going to want to start with a live (and lively) lobster. Some folks just drop the creature directly into the pot, but a more humane approach is to first kill it immediately before cooking. To do this, place your lobster on a cutting board. Position the tip of a large chef’s knife on top of the head of the lobster, perpendicular to the space right between its eyes, with the sharp edge pointing towards the tail. Using firm pressure, plunge the knife all the way through the head, and then angle your blade down 45 degrees. At this point, the lobster might still be twitching a bit, but is no longer alive.

Step 2: Skewer the tail.

If you want your finished lobster to lay flat, thread a long metal or bamboo skewer through the length of the tail, starting at the flippers and running all the way into the body. This step is optional, as there’s nothing really wrong with a curled tail, though skewering can also help to ensure even cooking.

Step 3: Drop the lobsters.

While most people boil their lobsters, Brown prefers to steam them. This method is safer and quicker—no waiting around for gallons of water to boil!—and results in sweeter and more flavorful results as you’re not cooking out all of the animal’s flavorful juices.

Once the water is boiling, remove the rubber bands from the lobster’s claws. Uncover the pot, and lower the lobsters into the water, tail first. Be sure not to add too many at once, two 1- to 1½-pound lobsters is about right for the average home stockpot. Replace the lid and cook until the lobster shells turn from blackish orange to bright red, about 12 minutes for soft-shell lobsters, or 14 minutes for hard-shell lobsters*. (If you’re unsure if the lobster is cooked, give one of its antennae a gentle tug; it should easily detatch when cooked). 

Once cooked, use sturdy tongs to lift the lobster out of the pot, allowing any excess hot water to drip back in before transferring to a large rimmed baking sheet. Set aside to cool for a few minutes before handling.

*In Maine, hard-shell lobster season typically runs from November through June while soft-shell (also known as “new-shell lobster”) season runs from June through November.

Step 4: Seperate the tail.

To extract a lobster’s meat, first break it down into its anatomical parts. Once it is cool enough to handle, place one hand on the body behind the head, and the other on the tail; twist and pull the two pieces apart. Set the body aside; remove the skewer from the tail and discard.

Step 5: Break open the tail meat.

Holding the tail shell-side-down, with one hand at the fins, and the other hand at the second segment on the tail, apply gentle pressure to snap the fins away, revealing the tip of the tail meat. Using your thumbs, crack apart the remaining shell. (If the shell is too hard to break with your hands, you may also use strong kitchen shears to snip through the thin membrane on the underside of the tail to get at the meat.) Set aside the tail meat. 

Then, go back to the little fins you removed earlier. Pull apart each individual flipper and give it a squeeze, revealing a thin nub of meat. :These are my favorite little morsels of lobster,” Brown tells me, and they are often overlooked by consumers.

Step 6: Pull the claw away.

Once the lobster tail has been cleaned, move on to the body and claws. Gripping one of the knuckles (basically the arms), twisting each claw gently to remove it from the body. Repeat with the second claw and set the body aside. Then, separate each knuckle from its claw.

Step 7: Crack the claws.

The claw is in two parts. Twist and remove the small, thumb-like bottom section gently to reveal the meat within. (If the meat breaks off with this piece, a toothpick or small fork may be used to pull it out.) Then use a lobster cracker to break through the larger top section of the claw, taking care not to mangle the meat—particularly if you’re planning to serve the claw meat whole in a recipe, like this fantastic linguine with lobster and chiles. Gently shimmy out the meat, and discard the shell. Repeat this process for the second claw.

Step 8: Crack those knuckles.

You’ll have two knuckles left. Using strong kitchen shears, snip down the length of the shells and pull out the meat. 

Finally, Brown insists that we don’t forget about the thin strips of meat hiding in the lobster’s eight legs. (Maine Lobster processes around 2,000 pounds of leg meat per day, so I knew these pieces had to be worth the effort.) First, pull each leg away from the body. Some folks just chew on the legs to get at the meat, but if you want to add it to a dish, Brown suggests the following more sanitary method: Position a rolling pin or a bottle at the outer tip of the leg, then press and gently roll up towards the “shoulder,” squeezing the leg meat out as you go.

Brown does not like to get messy with the body of the lobster and you don’t have to either, but if you don’t mind getting your hands a little dirty, pull apart the shells and see what you find in there. Larger lobsters often have pockets of meat hiding in the body. Some people enjoy eating the green tomalley (the animal’s liver and pancreas), and female lobsters may also contain a bright red material which is the animal’s roe. All of this is edible and considered by many to be delicacies. 

Like any new skill, practice makes perfect when it comes to cooking whole lobsters. Once you’ve steamed more than a couple of these tasty creatures, you’ll be a pro at getting each little morsel of meat out. Use this guide to familiarize yourself with the anatomy of the lobster, and to get comfortable with cooking them. Once you have all the succulent meat to celebrate your hard work with, Brown recommends enjoying it with garlic butter or honey butter—but he also can get behind a minimal approach: “I often just dunk my lobster in freshly squeezed lemon juice,” he says. “The citrus flavor goes so well with the sweet and tender meat.” 

While steaming lobster is now my favorite way to cook lobster too, there are also many other ways to prepare them. Check out all of our favorite lobster recipes here!

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Next time you have friends over for lobster, consider regaling them with these bizarro factoids: lobsters are cannibals and can regenerate limbs, they were the food of prisoners and the poor until the late 1800s, their teeth are located in their stomachs, and the green goop (aka the tomalley) behind the head is the crustacean’s liver and pancreas. 

We share these curiosities to avoid stating the obvious, which is that lobster is one of the best things one can eat from the sea. If you have the means to splurge on it, be sure you cook it properly—claws, tail, innards, and all—by taking advantage of this how-to and our favorite lobster recipes.   

The Best Connecticut Lobster Rolls

Fresh, live lobster and good-quality buns are the keys to an outstanding lobster roll. The Connecticut version, moistened with butter, is the epitome of summer decadence. Get the recipe >

Grilled Lobster with Chipotle Garlic Seaweed Butter

This recipe is all about doubling down: chipotle for extra smoke and seaweed for extra brininess—and the result is one of the most flavorful lobster dishes we can think of. Get the recipe >

Coal-Grilled Lobsters with Charred Corn, Tomatillos, and Blue Potatoes

This cornucopia of seafood and summer vegetables is quick and casual—to be enjoyed with no forks but bibs all around. Get the recipe >

Lobster Linguine with Chiles

An extravagant pasta dish from a luxury hotel in Florence, this pasta is enriched with the coral, or roe sac. Get the recipe >

Grilled Lobster with Cilantro-Chile Butter

To make this stunning red-and-green entrée, whole lobsters are split down the middle, grilled over embers, and spooned with a heady cilantro-chile sauce. Get the recipe >

Boiled Lobster

Sometimes less is more, as proven by this two-step boiled lobster recipe from a Maine lobsterman. Get the recipe >

Lobster Bisque

Our recipe for this classic fine-dining dish comes from the 1969 cookbook La Cuisine: Secrets of Modern French Cooking, by Raymond Oliver. Get the recipe >

Seafood Newburg (Lobster, Scallops, and Shrimp in Sherry Cream Sauce)

While Lobster Newburg was first served at New York City’s Delmonico’s restaurant in 1876, Boston’s Union Oyster House keeps the tradition alive today in its version that adds shrimp, scallops, and puff pastry vol-au-vents. Get the recipe >

Grilled Seafood Tower

Bored by the unadorned seafood towers that come on ice, Chicago chef David Ochs resolved to  “serve an exceptional marinated grilled seafood tower instead, with that smoky smell that turns heads.” Get the recipe >

Spaghetti with Lobster (Spaghetti all’Astice)

Lobster, garlic, tomatoes, white wine, pasta—that’s the elevator pitch for this Venetian knockout. Get the recipe >

Seawater-Poached Beach Lobster with Lemon Brown Butter

The only way we can imagine improving on boiled lobster dunked in drawn butter is by browning the butter beforehand—as this recipe from Prince Edward Island wisely instructs. Get the recipe >

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Grilled lobster is an unexpected delight in New England, especially when skilled lobstermen know how to take advantage of the full versatility of the sweet and often abundant crustaceans. If you want to go a step beyond steaming or boiling lobsters, pre-cracking the shells, then slathering the meat with brightly flavored cilantro-chile butter is a good place to start. (Cutting a live lobster in half can be a bit grisly for some, but it is well worth the task to ensure that the lobster meat gets direct contact with the grill.) Find all of our favorite lobster recipes here.

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There are many ways to enjoy lobster on Prince Edward Island—from the sea-splashed back deck of the boat that caught it to the crisp white tables of fine-dining restaurants. At the FireWorks Feast at The Inn at Bay Fortune chef Michael Smith and his cooks often poach the crustaceans restaurant-style—just enough to firm and release the near-raw meat from the shell before adding various creative flavors and flourishes to finish. It’s very labor intensive, so when Smith and his cooks take a day off from the crowds and head for the local beach, this is their favorite way to enjoy lobster: simply poached in fresh seawater, and served with lots of butter. And not just melted butter, but brown butter! They’re cooks, after all, and they know a few secrets. You will too after you share a lobster with someone you love on an uncrowded beach (easy to find on Prince Edward Island) on a cerulean-blue summer day. Just don’t forget to pack the beverages. If you happen to find yourself far from the seashore, this cooking method also works well on the stovetop.

This recipe is adapted from Farm, Fire & Feast: Recipes from the Inn at Bay Fortune by Michael Smith. Copyright © 2021 Michael Smith. Photography by Al Douglas. Published by Penguin Canada®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.

Featured in: “This Canadian Chef’s Coastal Cooking Perfectly Distills Late Summer Flavor.”

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This extravagant pasta, from chef Fulvio Pierangelini’s restaurant, Irene, in Florence’s Hotel Savoy, is enriched with the lobsters’ coral, or roe sac. The rosy eggs add a pop of sweetness to the dish, but can be omitted if you prefer.

Featured in: “What’s Old is New Again.”

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We love the sweet, light flavor of lobster meat in everything from fresh salads to creamy chowder, but killing a live lobster can be a daunting task. In the video, we show you how to do it quickly and humanely.

See the lobster ingredient guide »
See 27 great lobster recipes »
Find out where to mail-order live Maine lobsters »

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Grilled Lobster with Chipotle Garlic Seaweed Butter

Grilled Lobster with Garlic-Parsley Butter

Summer Lobster Tacos

Grilled Lobster with Cilantro-Chile Butter

Oyster Club’s Lobster

Lobster Bisque

Coal-Grilled Lobsters with Charred Corn, Tomatillos, and Blue Potatoes

Spaghetti with Lobster (Spaghetti all’Astice)

Lobster Fra Diavolo

Lobster and Avocado Salad

Brown Butter Lobster Roll

Lobster Américaine with Asparagus and Tomatoes

Bourbon-Roasted Lobster

Lobster Ceviche with Limestone Lettuce

Lobster Risotto

The post Summer and Lobster Are the Perfect Pairing appeared first on Saveur.

While you certainly can trek out to a remote corner of the East Coast and pay upwards of $20 to devour a delicious, iconic lobster roll off a plastic patio chair with the warm ocean breeze in your hair, remember this: Anyone can make a truly perfect, succulent lobster roll at home—for about half the price.

The quintessence of summer dining, lobster rolls ought to be made with fresh, live lobster and, usually are served in one of two styles: Maine-style, which come chilled and dressed in mayonnaise and usually finely chopped celery and lemon; and Connecticut-style, which are drizzled in butter and served warm on a toasted bun. There are merits to both. But, because of this simple math—lobster tastes amazing with butter and butter tastes amazing with bread and salt—I lean toward simple, salt and butter-dressed Connecticut-style rolls as the reliable crowd-pleaser at home.

To create the ultimate Connecticut roll, bring these star ingredients together and resist adding much else that may distract from them. Start by steaming or boiling lobster with a generous amount of salt, a small palmful of black peppercorns, and a bay leaf if you have it. Then toss the cooked, pulled lobster meat briefly in melted butter seasoned with sea salt and a hint of paprika. Beyond this, a simple delicate leaf of butter lettuce for crunch and a sprinkling of chopped chives for brightness are all you need to garnish each roll.

You can eat two crisp, buttery rolls at home for the price of one out, and there won’t be a soul around to judge you.

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