15 Easy, Unfussy Lobster Recipes To Make Any Night Of The Week (2024)

FAQs

How to cook lobster for dummies? ›

Bring water to a heavy boil. Using gloves or tongs, place the Maine lobsters into the pot, cover tightly. When the water returns to a heavy boil, turn the heat down to a rolling boil and start the timer. Steam lobsters for 9 minutes for the first pound, and add 4 minutes for each additional pound.

Steaming lobsters is the preferred way to cook whole, live lobsters for a few reasons: you're less likely to overcook lobsters when steaming, the entire cook time is shorter and the process of cooking and removing the lobsters from the pot is a lot easier. Get a pot large enough to hold your lobsters.

Cooking lobster tails is a fairly simple process. When you buy lobster tails, you can steam them, boil them, grill them, bake them, broil them or even smoke them. If you aren't sure which method to use, we strongly recommend boiling your lobster tails because it's your best bet to avoid the tails sticking to the shell.

Lobsters will turn bright red when cooked. Par-boil lobsters in boiling water for 5 minutes. Remove the lobsters and immediately put into a large pot/bowl of cold water to stop the cooking. (You can drain the lobsters and store in the refrigerator if you do not plan to grill them right away.)

It's not necessary, but if you'd like to kill the lobster before cooking it, do so by driving a knife into the center of its head and pushing down to split it open.

Lobster or other seafood that is not fresh will taste or smell fishy. To correct this, before cooking or using the seafood, rinse the seafood with water that has some added lemon juice. The answer is the same for all seafood and very simple… Don't overcook it.

Fill pot with water, allowing 3 quarts of water per 1-1/2 to 2 pounds of lobster. Add 1/4 cup of sea salt for each gallon of water. Bring the water to a rolling boil. Add the live lobsters one at a time and start timing right away.

If you want to stay simple, stick with a subtle lemon and butter sauce or garlic herb and butter sauce. You might also want to try seasoning your lobster with a subtle blend of classic spices like sage, rosemary, thyme and parsley or complement your meal with a French-inspired tarragon marinade or cream sauce.

7 to 10 minutes for a 1-pound lobster, 8 to 12 minutes for a 1 1/4-pound lobster, and 10 to 14 minutes for a 1 1/2-pound lobster. Add 2 minutes for every additional 1/2 pound. The lobsters should be a bright vivid red color when done.

Do you boil lobster covered or uncovered? ›

Add the live lobsters one at a time, cover the pot, and start timing. Halfway through, lift the lid (careful—the steam is hot) and shift the lobsters around so they cook evenly. If they are new-shell lobsters reduce cooking time by 3 minutes.

These are immature eggs called roe and are naturally black. If the eggs are black and not red when you are ready to eat your lobster, that means the lobster needs to be cooked further. Once the eggs are red — meaning they're cooked — they can be eaten.

Overcooked lobster can often get a little rubbery in texture, while an undercooked lobster is gelatinous and frankly inedible.

Never overcook your lobster. This makes the meat tough and stringy (a huge bummer!). We find most of the cooking time suggestions found on the internet are way too long. We'll give you detailed lobster cooking times, but it is important to know how the time of year impacts timing.

Boiling and steaming are the methods of choice when you want to serve diners a whole lobster. Boiling is a little quicker and easier to time precisely, and the meat comes out of the shell more readily than when steamed. For recipes that call for fully cooked and picked lobster meat, boiling is the best approach.

Prep your lobster tails for cooking by cutting the shell back to expose the meat. Using a knife or kitchen scissors, carefully cut the shell lengthwise from top to bottom. Next, fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Make sure to select a pot with enough space that the water will cover the lobster tails.

Fill pot with water, allowing 3 quarts of water per 1-1/2 to 2 pounds of lobster. Add 1/4 cup of sea salt for each gallon of water. Bring the water to a rolling boil. Add the live lobsters one at a time and start timing right away.