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Lobster 101


Rachel Perlow

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According to the Maine Lobstermen's Association: "Lobsters do not have vocal chords. Since this is true, they do not scream or vocalize when cooked."

Steven A. Shaw aka "Fat Guy"
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According to the Maine Lobstermen's Association: "Lobsters do not have vocal chords.  Since this is true, they do not scream or vocalize when cooked."

while this may appear to be a logical conclusion, i wouldn't accept it as absolute truth. one would have to first accept that a creature cannot make a sound if it doesn't have vocal chords. i'm not sure i believe that. :hmmm:

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tommy, no. There is a high pitched squeal that comes from air being pressed out through the joints of the shell.

I don't know jin. That high pitched squeal was accompanied by a frenzied scramble out of the pot. Convinced me to dispatch them first. Got more info? I've heard the pressure escaping thing. It seem to me you would get that squeal even if plunged into boiling water (the pressure thing).

Is there a link that describes the noise?

edit: okay, read the rest of the thread. But it sur is bloodcurdling.

Nick :smile:

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  • 10 months later...

this was a fun and helpful lobster thread. i'll be killing several lobsters tomorrow for dinner (assuming the fish guy has some), and had to revisit this thread. probably with the "slow and painless" boiling method.

any additional thoughts on boiling? i'm planning on following the theory that 13 minutes or so is good for 2 lb lobsters. i'm also still not convinced that they scream or don't scream. i shall be drinking plenty of beer during the process, however, so i probably won't care either way.

drawn butter. corn on the cob. corn cooked separately? should i use the same water and cook the corn ahead of time in some sort of romantic lobster-dinner-on-the-beach thing? maybe i'll just grill the corn. i need a lot of butter. this i know for sure.

thanks.

edit: this lobster thread is fun too. seems that threads on killing animals are fun.

Edited by tommy (log)
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I just throw them in the pot to steam and slam down the lid. I've never heard a scream. In any case that's just steam escaping the shell, I think. Takes too long to get a huge pot of water to the boil and then the bugs get water logged.

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  • 2 months later...
  • 8 months later...

In an effort to make sure that this thread is anatomically correct, this is the proper way to sex a lobster (all of that crap about tail width not withstanding)

Pick up the lobster in question. Flip it over. Look at the small pair of appendages in front of the walking legs. On the female, these are soft and feathery. On the male, they are hard shelled and feel not dissimilar from the walking legs.

You will never incorrectly sex a lobster again with this method. Why does it always work? Those hard things on the male are his genitals. They pierce the shell of the female to hold them still. The feathery parts on the female are used to sweep the male sperm into the egg sac, to ensure fertilization.

Anyone who tells you different is lyin'.

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Can I just steam them whole? How long?

Yes, I've done it with 3.5 pounders and it makes for a deliciously succulent lobster. I follow Julia Child's timing (I guess from The Way to Cook). I don't have it handy to quote, but she gives a basic time for the basic lobster then an additional number of minutes per pound, or per pound over a certain weight, or something like that (you know Julia). But whatever it is, every time I've done it, it's worked perfectly. Enjoy !!!

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Counterman: “Who’s going to sit and cut fruit all day, lady… YOU?”

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My exec chef insists on cleaving the lobsters into two lengthwise, and then boiling the halves.

heresy.

I'm trying to wean him off the habit.

Allan Brown

"If you're a chef on a salary, there's usually a very good reason. Never, ever, work out your hourly rate."

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Here is a good one! I did a lunch party for 120 people at the country club where I was chef many years ago and they wanted a cold lobster salad for the main entree.

I lined out my sous chef on how to cook and shock the lobsters cold so we could break out the meat for the salads the next day. I was invited to play golf with the members so I thought that when I was done playing golf the 80, 1 and 1/ 2 lB lobsters would be ready for cleaning and prepping of the next days lunch. Well my sous chef was a buddhist and so after nine holes of golf I stopped in the kitchen to see how he was doing and he had only done 20 lobsters as he was blessing each one before dropping them into the court boullion.Needless to say I still had another nine holes to play so I suggested a mass blessing so that we could get the prep done. And no, they do not scream.

As far as the cooking of the meat goes I have a lot of experience in this venue as I was restraunt chef for a hi volume casino in Reno which used to sell steak and lobster for 6.95 a plate! I used to sell 6 hundred dishes of this a night.We used Main tales of 4 to 5 OZ . I would split the tail halfway through, pull the meat but still leave it connected at the tail end, pull the vein, rinse in cold water and lay the tail back on the now closed shell(butterflied for presentation). I drizzeled butter, lemon juice and paprika on these and we steamed them 18 to a hotel pan.The trick I found with lobster is to not overcook!No matter whole lobster or just the tails as I have described do not over cook them or you have ruined a very good piece of meat. Steaming is the best method also (in your own court boullion).

Lobster cooks very quickly so you must learn your method and pay attention in order to have the best you can. OK,Im hungry now so later.Doug............

The two most common things in the universe are hydrogen and stupidity!

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Pick from just about 50 good recipes but whatever you do, serve them with corn on the cob--- you have to get your hands dirty with the lobster, might as well eat a vegetable that is just as messy and goes well with butter (in any form).

"He could blanch anything in the fryolator and finish it in the microwave or under the salamander. Talented guy."

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