Live Lobsters !

ALL ABOUT LIVE LOBSTERS
The king of crustaceans is the American lobster, often called Maine lobster. It is caught in the Atlantic from Newfoundland to South Carolina. The meat is sweet and mild and the flesh is tender.

When purchasing a live lobster, transport the lobster home by placing a bag of ice beside the bag containing the lobster. Do not put ice directly on the lobster. Do not store the lobster in water. Lobsters are salt-water creatures and do not survive in fresh water. Remove the bag of ice and untie the bag that the lobster is in. Store the lobster in the opened bag in the refrigerator. If the lobster dies before they are cooked, they are perfectly fine to eat. Allow ½ large lobster or 1 small lobster per serving. One to three pound lobsters do not vary in tenderness. Lobsters weighing 4 pounds and over tend to be less tender.

To boil lobsters: Using a large (20-quart) stockpot, bring salted water to a boil. Plunge lobster into the water headfirst. Return to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer about 10 minutes for the first pound and 3 minutes for each additional pound.

To steam lobsters: Lobster steamers have a rack in the bottom that allows the lobster to be held above the water. Bring 2 inches of salted water to a boil. Place the lobster in the pot and steam about 13 minutes for the first pound and 3 minutes for each additional pound.

To broil lobsters: The lobster needs to be killed, split and cleaned. To prepare the lobster for broiling, insert a sharp knife between the tail section and the body shell, severing the spinal cord. Split the lobster lengthwise through the undershell and flesh.Remove and discard the stomach sac (behind the head) and pull out the dark intestinal vein, which runs to the end of the tail. It can also be boiled until almost done and then broiled until hot. Broil 4 inches from heat until opaque when cut or until heated through (10 to 12 minutes for uncooked lobster, 4 to 5 minutes for cooked lobster).

When a whole lobster is served, it lies on the plate with head and tail intact. Armed with a lobster bib, a lobster cracker or nut cracker and a small fork, you are ready for the next challenge.

The claws should be twisted off where they join the body and a cracker and fork used to extract the meat. To remove meat from the body, pick up the lobster soft side up and arch it until the tailpiece separates from the body. Remove the tail flippers by bending them back until they too crack off; discard these.

In the female lobster these flippers are soft and feathery; in the male lobster they are bony. To extract tail meat, slide a fork between the soft underside of tail and meat and firmly pull out the meat. It should come out in one large piece. Remove the small claws and bite off each end. There is meat inside that may be sucked out as if using a straw. In opening a female lobster, you may find roe or coral that reddens when cooked. Use it as a garnish or to color a sauce.

The yellow substance in both males and females is the liver or tomalley and is considered a delicacy. Both the roe and the tomalley can be mixed with melted butter to make a dipping sauce.