A whole lobster is killed in a few seconds if plunged into boiling water. However, where the recipe calls for a lobster to be cut up before cooking, proceed as follows...
Lobster:
- Set the lobster on a board and cover the tail with a cloth. Hold the lobster firmly with one hand and with the point of a large knife, pierce down to the board through the cross mark at the centre of the head and firmly cut down through the head
- Turn the lobster round. Holding it by the head, cut down through the cross again and continue down through the tail, neatly cutting the lobster in half in one movement
- Chop off the claws and legs on each side of the body
- Gripping the head firmly, slice the tail section across, into medallions. Cut the head in half
- Scoop out the tomalley (greenish liver) and any coral (black when uncooked) and reserve for soup or sauce.
- Crack the claws with the back of the knife, but don’t shell them. The body and legs may be cooked to add flavour, but they are not normally served
Cooked Lobster:
- Holding the lobster with both hands, twist and pull the body and tail apart, leaving the tail meat in one piece
- With kitchen scissors, cut along the underside of the tail on each side
- With your fingers, press the shell on both sides to loosen the tail meat
- Peel back the shell with your hands and extract the tail meat in one piece
- Cut off the intestinal meat at the end of the tail
- Cut the tail meat in medallions or leave it whole, depending on size. Finally extract the meat from the claws and legs, and clean the body
Extracting the meat:
Follow the same method for all types of lobster
- Use a sharp, thick-bladed knife to separate the two halves of a lobster from head to tail. The small sac and the black tail vein should be removed
- All other parts, including the roe and the tomalley are edible and delicious.
- The claws and legs should be cracked with a large nutcracker to remove the meat
Stuffing:
- Lay it flat on its back and use a sharp knife to make a slit from tail to head, paying attention not to rupture the lobster's back shell.
- Reach in with your fingers to scoop out the tomalley and roe.
- Form a stuffing cavity by stretching apart the two halves of the lobster, rinse out and pat dry.
- Before baking the lobster, gently crack its claws so that their meat will be accessible but their attractive form remains intact.