People have a lot of opinions about lobster rolls. Many are passionate about what ingredients are included: mayonnaise, butter, celery, onion, gourmet rolls vs. hot dog rolls and more. For me, I'm all about simple buttery lobster rolls. Lobster meat, butter, lemon, hot dog rolls, and a light sprinkling of chopped chives. I love truly appreciating the luxury of eating lobster meat and the perfect complement to that, to me, is butter. However, you can't make a lobster roll without knowing how to crack open a lobster to get.that.meat. Don't be intimidated - it's a lot easier than it looks. This is Part 1, cracking open the lobster. Part 2 will show you How to Make Awesome Buttery Lobster Rolls.
Steps to Cracking Open a Lobster and Pulling Out the Meat
So now you know how to crack open a lobster and get that meat out. I cannot underscore enough to be careful as you go about this process. Lobster shells are very sharp and it's easy to cut yourself. Work slowly and cautiously as you crack and retrieve the meat. If you need to make more cracks in the shell so it's easier, do it.
Lobster Rolls Are Too Expensive to Buy - Getting Lobsters on Sale is the Key
I live in Massachusetts, so I am very lucky to have access to lobsters that are locally caught. Most grocery stores have a seafood counter that includes a tank with live lobsters. A few times per summer, there will be a crazy lobster sale. And when I say crazy, I mean $6.99/pound. This is extremely cheap for lobster.
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The going rate for buying a lobster roll at a take-out seafood shack or at a restaurant can vary and cost as much as $20-40 for ONE lobster roll. When lobsters go on sale for $6.99/pound, you can buy four lobsters for about $40 and make FOUR lobster rolls with them. This is what I did.
When I got to the seafood counter, they only had "chick" lobsters left. This means the weight is about 1-1 ¼ pounds per lobster. I wasn't sure there would be enough meat in one lobster to make a lobster roll. But there was! Yay! And bonus: they will steam the lobsters for you at my grocery store! If you have this option in your area: go for it!
I used plain old hot dog rolls, and they were overflowing with lobster meat. Remember, lobster with butter is rich and filling and you'll likely be serving these with chips, fries or a side salad so it's more than enough for a meal.
How to Cook Lobster at Home:
- Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil on high heat (pot needs to be big enough to fit four lobsters).
- Carefully place lobsters in the pot using kitchen tongs.
- Put the lid on the pot and let it come back up to a boil, then reduce heat to medium.
- Let the lobsters cook for about 15 minutes.
- After cooked, transfer lobsters to a colander in your sink and let them cool a few minutes.
- Be careful when you start cracking them open because hot liquid will come out.
Still Got Seafood on Your Brain? I Understand:
- How to Make Awesome Buttery Lobster Rolls
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How To Crack Open a Lobster (and get the meat)
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
Do you know how to crack open a lobster and get the meat? No? Well, I've got you covered with this easy tutorial. Let's get crackin'!
Ingredients
- 4 cooked lobsters, meat only (see note#1)
- 1 stick of butter, melted (if you're eating and not making lobster rolls
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Instructions
- Holding your lobster over a large bowl – break the tail piece away from the body. You will see green stuff which is called the tomalley. The FDA recommends NOT eating this since it may be poisonous. You can scoop it out and rinse the lobster pieces with water later if you want. Using your nutcracker tool make a crack or two in the lobster tail and gently pull the meat out. Lobster shells are sharp so be careful.
- Pull the leg/claw piece from the body of the lobster too. Using the nutcracker tool, crack the lobster knuckles/leg section and pull out the meat. You may need a tiny fork from time to time to scoop out hard to reach pieces of meat.
- Next, using your cracking tool, give the claws a couple of cracks, remove the shell and pull the meat out.
- You can discard the lobster body. Some people like to pull the tiny legs and suck the meat out. I don’t think it’s worth it but if you want to do that – go ahead.
- Repeat this process for the other three lobsters. I kept the meat from each lobster in separate piles – one pile of meat for each lobster roll. Should take about 4-5 minutes per lobster to pull all the meat out.
- In Part 2 of this tutorial, I will show you how to make the best lobster rolls.
Equipment
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Stainless Steel Stock Pot (10 Quart)
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Buy Now → Notes
- The seafood counter at my local grocery store will cook the lobster for you. If your grocery store provides this service you should go for it!
Ben
It is an interesting method, I was confused about how to crack the shell, it look so easy when I watched it
Nikki Krakauer
I haven’t done a LOT of lobster cracking, however, because I was born/raised/lived a lifetime in San Francisco Bay Area, I’ve cracked a LOT of crab. I use a 13 gallon kitchen bag to enclose my largest cutting board. Best part, is that when finished, I turn bag inside out with all the yucky parts within to throw in trash. BTW, you can boil the carcasses for stock, however, at 80+, I’ve discontinued that practice. I get out my hefty kitchen scissors, AND….my “chain mail” (knife protection) gloves. These save my hands from SO MUCH wear and tear!!! HTH!!!
Stacey
Hi Nikki - thanks for sharing your ideas! And yes, I love those "chain" gloves for cutting and definitely a good idea with shellfish -- those corners are sharp!!