Boiled Lobster

Today is Ash Wednesday and for those fellow Catholics like myself that means no more meat on Friday’s till Easter. My husband is Baptist and usually is a good sport going along with my meatless Friday’s (mainly because he has to fix his own meal or eat what I’m eating haha). It’s not that difficult, but the more you can’t have something the more you want it! You also have to give something up during this time. I suggested I give up cooking since I love to do that so much, but hubby vetoed that idea. I’m still trying to figure out what to give up, but hope to have it narrowed down by the end of the day.

 

Anyway, I thought I would kick off Lent with one thing we love doing down in the South. Usually it’s crawfish, but when they have Lobsters on sale they work as well, plus it’s a lot less peeling! There’s really no recipe to this you basically pour a bag of seasoning in a pot of water. We like to add lemon slices, onion, garlic, corn, mushrooms and potatoes.

We learned this trick from one of our friends. If you pour a little vegetable oil in the water the shells of the crawfish or lobster release the meat easier. Some people try butter as well.

 

The crackers are a must for lobster unless you are strong. The other pickers get to the hard parts you can’t pull out with your fingers.

 

When you buy lobster you want to make sure they have the rubber bands on their claws. If you see a tank where they don’t have rubber bands you need to let the seafood people know. Lobsters will fight and kill each other in the tank.

Here’s our set up for boiling.

My method is to drop them in quickly to no prolong their death.

You’ll know they are done when they float to the top and are a bright red color.

Rule of thumb is to boil them for 7 minutes then turn the fire off and let it soak for 5 more minutes.

These where some big boys!

Yummy!!

Don’t toss out the shells!!! I have a recipe coming up that will extract all those flavors. Just baggie them or put in a Tupperware and stick in the fridge to cook tomorrow, because you’ll be too stuffed to cook anything else today!