armywife23 wrote:

> I am purchasing some live lobsters to cook for my husband as a
> surprise. I know you have to boil them

Don't boil them. Steam them. Put an inch of water in the largest
pot you have, add some salt (1 tsp or thereabouts), and bring to a
roiling boil. Use a steamer basket or other contrivance to put the
lobsters in the pot without putting them in the water. Cover and
cook for 2-3 minutes a pound plus 3-5 minutes (times are not exact
because lobsters do not come in standard sizes.) Larger lobsters
are better - you will get more meat buying one really large lobster
than a mess of little ones. Try to get a female if possible, they
will usually have roe (top of the body just ahead of the tail) which
will turn red and firm and it is delicious.

Crack a lobsters claws with a hammer before serving. Remove the
tail when eating, cut through the bottom between the swimmerettes,
and crack off the tail fan. Remove the meat in one piece and fan
it out like a book and remove the vein/intestine. Rinse the meat
under warm water and enjoy.

Some people enjoy the "tamale" - the green slime inside the head.
Personally, I skip that. The meat is found in the tail, the legs,
the claws and arms, and in the base of the head where the legs
attached. You may also find the roe - a brownish (raw) or reddish
(cooked) mass in the back of the head and extending into the tail.
When cooked, this is as tasty as the meat, you can eat it with the
meat, save it for the lobster salad (see below), or you can eat it
separately with some melted butter.

In large lobsters the legs hold a lot of meat and are worth picking
and eating - also the bottom of the head where the legs join the
body. In smaller lobsters these areas are too hard to reach during
the meal. After dinner, use a rolling pin on the legs one by one to
push out the meat in smaller lobsters, then pick out the head meat
at the base of the legs. Be careful to get all the shell out. Rinse
the meat if needed and mix it with mayo to taste and have lobster
salad for lunch the next day.

Use the mess left over the meal after picking: into a pot with some
herbs, quartered onion or scallions, water to cover, and simmer for
several hours. When the shell turns translucent, strain out the
solids and save the broth. This can be used as a soup stock, or
simmered and reduced for a heavenly seafood sauce.

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