Advertisement

Food Food & Drink

Get crackin’

Lobster – swank, right? Or not. 

Honestly, the whole idea of lobster being a fancy food – or even buying it from a store – is weird to me.

My father-in-law, the son of a lobster fisher, used to take lobster sandwiches for school lunch in the 1950s and “trade up” for bologna.

Where I grew up in Halifax, within a few minutes of the coves where fishing boats would dock, you seldom bought lobster some neighbour who fished often gave it away. If you did pay hard cash for these tasty but ugly creatures, you bought it off the wharf as the boats came in for the day, or from the back of a truck on the side of the road.

Here in the big city, lobster-buying is more complicated and expensive. Take advantage of Atlantic lobster season (now to the end of June) to buy this sustainable shellfish at its best (after a winter in cold waters) and cheapest.

Cooking lobster at home is easy, and eating it far more fun than at a restaurant where you have to worry about getting butter on your shirt. 

Here’s a primer.

Keep your lobsters in the fridge wrapped in wet newspaper until you’re ready to cook them. Do not put them in fresh water – this will kill them. 

Before you fill your biggest pot with water, place the lobsters in it to see how many fit comfortably. Most large stock pots can hold two or three, but don’t overcrowd things. 

Fill the pot with water and lots of salt and bring to a rolling boil. Take each lobster firmly by the mid-section, holding it so the claws are dangling, and carefully cut off the rubber claw bands – you don’t want your lobster to taste like rubber – before plunging the lobster into the boiling water head first. Put the lid on and let the water return to a boil before adding another. 

Refrain from trying to “stun” the lobster by stabbing it in the head with a knife. This never works and causes the lobster to release a chemical that makes your meat taste gross. And for the queasy among you, lobsters do not scream. That whistling noise you may hear is air escaping from the carapace.

If you’re eating right away, cook your lobster for about eight minutes for the average 1.5 lb canner. If you’re planning on freezing the meat for future use, cook for only five minutes and then transfer it to cold water immediately.

To eat, cover a table with newspaper. Place cooked lobsters on top of newspaper. Serve with bowls of melted butter and maybe some white rolls. Handy tools include a lobster cracker for the claws (a basic nutcracker will do), some chopsticks or small fondue forks and your hands.

Tuck a napkin into your shirt collar (the only time this is permitted) and go for it. Toss shells back onto the table maybe someone crafty will make “art” out of them later. Remember that there’s plenty of meat in the eight legs – pull them between your teeth as you would an artichoke leaf. 

The tail should come away from the carapace with an easy twist. If you’re lucky enough to get a female with coral – that bright orange clutch of lobster eggs that looks and tastes like sea urchin – it’s standard to share it. Finally, to retrieve the tail meat, pull the undersides of the shell apart slightly and use your thumbs to press in a line down either side of the spiky bits along the centre. The shell should crack and pull away.

I nearly got divorced over the correct way to make a lobster roll, so I’ll leave you to determine this yourself. I say a touch of mayo, my Islander husband wants celery in his, and my best Newfie friend is horrified at the inclusion of anything other than lobster meat, not even butter. Your method may vary.

As we say down home, fill yer boots.


Where to get it

Lobsters are available year-round and usually cost between $10.99 and $14.99 a pound fresh. During the spring season that price can dip below $9.99. 

Supermarkets like Metro (100 Lynn Williams, at Atlantic, 416-530-4100, and others) offer great deals (conveniently in time for Mother’s Day), but check Chinatown food stores like Oriental Harvest (310 Spadina, at Dundas West, 416-581-8666) or Hua Sheng (293 Spadina, at Dundas West, 416-263-9878), where seafood tends to be super-fresh and turns over quickly. Beware of lobster selling for less than $7/lb. The average lobster fisher needs to make $5/lb to break even, so if your lobster is sold at a deep discount, I guarantee it’s not the supermarket taking the hit.

Buy lively ones – they should be kicking and flailing. Also check to see you’re not being sold culls (lobsters missing an arm or a claw, which occasionally get torn off in processing). 

Lobsters are sold by weight – typically at this time of year you get canners, between 1 and 1.5 lbs. At this weight, one lobster per person is standard figure on two if you’re not serving side dishes. Avoid those enormous, publicity-seeking lobsters – they’re usually tough.

Some places will steam your lobster while you wait, but I’d avoid this unless you’re extremely squeamish, since they tend to overcook them. 

And it should go without saying that you never, ever buy precooked lobster. Ever.

Don’t miss: Yes, you can find cheap lobster in restaurants

food@nowtoronto.com

Advertisement

Exclusive content and events straight to your inbox

Subscribe to our Newsletter

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

By signing up, I agree to receive emails from Now Toronto and to the Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.