help me cook a lobster

[DavidC]

I checked epicurious.com, but I'm not interested in making lobster rolls.

Anyone have any idea as to how to cook / serve a lobster. I have two medium-sized tails, just for myself.

Edit: I'm looking for something pretty plain, but totally plain. I can cook as long as I have some directions.

[JaBlue]

I don't know the answer to your question but epicurious.com is a great site.

[rusellmj]

www.foodtv.com (http://www.foodtv.com)

[CardSharpCook]

Drop it in boiling water for about 3 minutes OR break it out of its shell and pop it in the oven at about 375 for about 5 minutes OR bust it out of the shell, get a saute pan on med-hi heat with a little oil in it, get a nice golden-brown color on it on both sides. About 3-5 min total cooking time. OR out of the shell, rub a little oil on it and slap it on the BBQ.

I've done three of these.

Serve with melted butter. Simple. Easy. Yummy.

I can do more if you want more complicated...

[CardSharpCook]

hows that lobster doing?

[Sincere]

Just boil that bytch for 3 minutes.

[DavidC]

[ QUOTE ]
Drop it in boiling water for about 3 minutes OR break it out of its shell and pop it in the oven at about 375 for about 5 minutes OR bust it out of the shell, get a saute pan on med-hi heat with a little oil in it, get a nice golden-brown color on it on both sides. About 3-5 min total cooking time. OR out of the shell, rub a little oil on it and slap it on the BBQ.

I've done three of these.

Serve with melted butter. Simple. Easy. Yummy.

I can do more if you want more complicated...

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm interested in keeping it out of boiling water, to preserve as much taste as possible (though that may not make a difference):

I'm a big fan of frying, so I'm going to try that.

I can melt butter like a pro, so I'll probably do that too.

Do you have any recommendations for herbs/seasonings?

This is tomorrow's lunch for me. I'm looking forward to it. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

--Dave.

Thanks for your help, btw.

[BottlesOf]

I think you should steam it not boil it, which means a lot less water in the pot. I may be wrong though.

Also, after this watch "Annie Hall"

[CardSharpCook]

[ QUOTE ]

Do you have any recommendations for herbs/seasonings?

[/ QUOTE ]

Were you another cook, I'd wave my hand dismissively and say, "herbs de Provence" /images/graemlins/smile.gif This refers to herbs grown in the provence region of France. These are soft herbs that will not overpower the dish. Taragon, dill, parsley, chervil... any of these would be good, so long as they are fresh. Remember that the lobster is the star of this dish. If you don't have any fresh herbs on hand, don't worry about it. Also, be sure to salt it, but you can omit pepper.

Note: glad you're not going to boil it /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[yellowjack]

You want to keep the taste, but you're adding butter and frying it? /images/graemlins/frown.gif

Try steaming it and eating it w/o the butter and whatnot. Tell me what you think.

[edfurlong]

Its not lobster without butter.

Write that down.

[yellowjack]

Dear god that's just so wrong.

[CardSharpCook]

[ QUOTE ]
You want to keep the taste, but you're adding butter and frying it? /images/graemlins/frown.gif

Try steaming it and eating it w/o the butter and whatnot. Tell me what you think.

[/ QUOTE ]

Seasoning and flavoring food is almost always correct, though there are raw methods (i.e. sushi) to some foods. Butter isn't an overpowering flavor and does more for mouth feel than anything else. Wet cooking methods will remove flavor/nutrients. Sauteeing, BBQing will add flavor/carcinogens. If you want just the natural flavor, the oven is the way to go.

[DavidC]

[ QUOTE ]
You want to keep the taste, but you're adding butter and frying it? /images/graemlins/frown.gif

Try steaming it and eating it w/o the butter and whatnot. Tell me what you think.

[/ QUOTE ]

Good point, butter / salt, etc. to be used sparingly, and not before tasting it. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

Again, thanks for the help, guys. I'm starting to get excited.

I hope it's still alive or frozen, cause dead lobster doesn't last very long. The internal organs will ruin the meat.

If you don't want to boil it: cut it in half lengthwise, drizzle with butter, s+p, lemon and parsley. broil till done.

[edfurlong]

[ QUOTE ]
I hope it's still alive or frozen, cause dead lobster doesn't last very long. The internal organs will ruin the meat.

If you don't want to boil it: cut it in half lengthwise, drizzle with butter, s+p, lemon and parsley. broil till done.

[/ QUOTE ]

They are tails, they will be okay for a day.

[ QUOTE ]
They are tails, they will be okay for a day.

[/ QUOTE ]

a day sure, but you would be suprised how fast they will go bad.

Just thought of another way to cook them. Take them out of the shell, and poach them in butter. Sort of like a confit. You would need a lot of butter though.

[tonypaladino]

this thread is making me want some lobster

[smokingrobot]

wait, dont you just have to merely boil them?

[tonypaladino]

boil = bad b/c flavor will escape to the water

[edfurlong]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
They are tails, they will be okay for a day.

[/ QUOTE ]

a day sure, but you would be suprised how fast they will go bad.

Just thought of another way to cook them. Take them out of the shell, and poach them in butter. Sort of like a confit. You would need a lot of butter though.

[/ QUOTE ]

That is the best way by far in my opinion. Much harder easier to cook it perfectly at relatively low temp for someone that doesn't know what they are doing.

I'm not a huge fan of lobster. I think that at two bucks a pound it would be good, but I don't get the obsession. I'm a cook and I just never got it....

[CardSharpCook]

time was it was considered the cockroach of the sea. It used to be peasant food. Ever heard of Nutria? Down in Lousiana, the Bayous are run rampant with the vermin. Shipped to England, Nutria is a delicacy. Go figure.

[edfurlong]

I was quite unaware that nutria was a delicacy in england. Stupid english.

[CardSharpCook]

[ QUOTE ]
That is the best way by far in my opinion. Much harder easier to cook it perfectly at relatively low temp for someone that doesn't know what they are doing.

[/ QUOTE ]

Though the theory is sound, I don't really think that "poaching" is something that the lay-cook understands easily. Smoking pan = too hot, is easily understood. 375 in the oven for 15 min is easy. But cooking at 160-180 by submerging in liquid poses problems. "How do you know the water temp is 180?" "Does it have to be completely submerged?" "How do you keep it from floating?" Too many uncertainties.

But the theory of, the slower it cooks, the less likely you are to overcook it, is sound.

[CardSharpCook]

[ QUOTE ]
I was quite unaware that nutria was a delicacy in england. Stupid english.

[/ QUOTE ]

Just how people view food. When I was cooking in N.O. my chef had a picture of herself serving nutria to Paul Prudhomme (sp?) at a food fair. Most anything can be eaten and has been at some point in human history.

[tonypaladino]

a lot of italian peasant food is now considered "trendy"

most fancy italian resturants like to serve Polenta, for example, whichi in italy was eaten if you were too poor for meat or pasta.

Escarole as well, yuppies love it, but it is an italian peasant dish

[edfurlong]

But actualy importing a giant rat? I'm skeptical.. Although I suppose I shouldn't be considering the bs I see daily.

[ QUOTE ]

I'm not a huge fan of lobster. I think that at two bucks a pound it would be good, but I don't get the obsession. I'm a cook and I just never got it....

[/ QUOTE ]

/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
Ditto.
After cooking way too many tails, and probably a hundred whole live lobster (by many methods), I could go without seeing another lobster for the rest of my life.

And biologically, lobster IS a giant sea cockroach.

[ QUOTE ]
But the theory of, the slower it cooks, the less likely you are to overcook it, is sound.

[/ QUOTE ]

True to an extent, but it is still easy to overcook when poaching. It's sounds strange, but you can easily dry out seafood in water. People think, "oh just another minute or two can't hurt". But if the seafood goes over temp for very long, it gets dry and tough.

The best way to avoid this is to poach below 160f.

[CardSharpCook]

poaching below 160 results in two problems: the meat is in the "temperature danger zone" in which bacteria grows rampantly for too long and the second problem is that the meat never fully cooks. The general goal with seafood is to get the internal temp up to 165. Of course, though that is the general goal, some fish is better cooked less, and, of course, fish can be eaten raw.

[edfurlong]

[ QUOTE ]
poaching below 160 results in two problems: the meat is in the "temperature danger zone" in which bacteria grows rampantly for too long and the second problem is that the meat never fully cooks. The general goal with seafood is to get the internal temp up to 165. Of course, though that is the general goal, some fish is better cooked less, and, of course, fish can be eaten raw.

[/ QUOTE ]

As long as its under four hours its not much of an issue.

[DavidC]

Interesting experience...

I got to the grocery store, planning to get tarragon and parsley to season it with, planning the following:

-Fry the lobster
-Make some melted butter (salted)
-Make some melted butter (salted and seasoned with tarragon, garlic, cayenne pepper, parsley)

They didn't have fresh parsley, so I just got taragon.

I'm pleased to say that the butter side of things worked out perfectly; I can melt butter like a champ! /images/graemlins/smile.gif

As far as the lobster tail was concerned, it was a little more difficult:

1) I pried the first tail apart no problem (without bruising the meat) just with my fingers. The second tail had a section of bone/exoskeleton underbelly that was a lot thicker than the first tail, and I couldn't break it open. I don't have shell-breakers, so what I ended up doing was using a wooden spoon and gently tapping the side of the tail until the underbelly broke in half. This was surprisingly efficient.

I used canola oil, because I didn't want an overpowering olive oil taste... is this right so far?

I fried it up, and it started to look brown around the outsides, I was at medium heat, so I tried some:

The first bite, was a little tough, the second bite was a little raw, but very sweet. The third bite was quite raw and not as good as the second bite. So I cut the lobster up into chunks that were easier for an amateur like myself to cook evenly, and fried them.

Everything after that point was just fine.

I'll try it again in a month and see if baking works better, though. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[CardSharpCook]

Thanks for the report! Don't let it get you down! So much of cooking is experience and repetition. How do you know when it is done? Well, you poke it and you feel that the muscle fibers (proteins) have tightened - but it takes experience to know just what degree of tightening is enough. How do you get the proper browning? Well, make sure that the pan is hot enough (oil just below smoking) and then don't move the critter in the pan - let it sit in place for a minute or two. Of course, this takes experience in knowing how not to have it burn. Cooking can be fun, but you've got to repeat the same experience to get better at it. Hope it goes a little better next time, but it sounds like you enjoyed the meal anyway.

CSC