Choose you victim and settle down for dinner. Imagine describes the perfect way to eat a lobster. Before we get started, please tie on your lobster bib - eating lobster can be quite a sloppy business!
Firstly, you need to know your tools. The usual armoury consists of a cleaver or heavy knife for cracking the claws, a large nut-cracker for breaking apart the smaller pieces and a pick to get into any tight corners.
From here on it you’ll need to get your hands dirty. Hold the lobster by the back, twist off the legs and firmly squeeze out the meat. Next, do the same with the claws, tear them from the body at the joint first and then remove the loose part of the claw with your fingers. Use the nut-cracker to break off the tips of the large section of claw to reveal the meat. With your forefinger, push the meat from the tip of the claw out of the larger open end. Grab the tail in one hand and the back in another and twist them apart. Check the small flippers or ‘telsons’ at the end of the tail – this usually provides some miniscule, but very tasty, pieces of meat.
Using your cleaver, or other appropriate instrument, cut an opening between the walking legs – there are two pockets of meat underneath on each side.
Having saved the best for last now start on the tail meat. Insert your fingers into the ‘telson’ end to push the meat out whole through the larger opening. Peel off the top of the tail to reveal the digestive tract which should be removed before eating the tail meat. Delicious! If you’re feeling brave (or just still hungry) then you can explore further into the carapace to find small chunks of meat.
At the beginning of the meal you are usually asked to pick your own lobster. Remember that size makes very little difference to taste until they get to about 5-7lbs when the meat tends to become somewhat ‘stringy’. Females are recommended if you’re a fan of tail meat as they tend to have wider tails than their male counterparts. Finally, always remember: never eat a cooked lobster with its tail uncurled – it means it died before it was cooked and could make you very, very ill.
