How to Eat A Lobster
Consuming the king of crustaceans, or, how to eat a lobster     
            
CAMDEN (Aug 4, 2000): On the occasion of the annual Maine Lobster Festival, a primer for consuming the king of crustaceans.    
                    
Knox County, home of the Maine Lobster Festival for the past 53 years, is considered the lobster capitol of he world. Each year tens of thousands of lobsters find their way from the waters of Penobscot Bay to plates all around the world.      
Each year a lobster will shed its shell, these soft shell lobsters are more than likely what you will enjoy at a restaurant in this region, as the "shedders," as they are called, do not survive shipping.

(Below Picture) Lobster meat is low in fat, calories and cholesterol, lower even than lean ground beef or a skinless chicken breast.

You will notice the claws of your lobster have been banded. These should be removed before the lobster is eaten, but not before the live lobster is steamed. The bands are placed on the lobster for two reasons: The first is to protect whoever handles the lobster from the powerful claws. The second is to protect the lobster from other lobsters.     
             
Lobsters are carnivorous and will eat anything that crosses their paths, including another lobster. If the bands were not in place, the lobsters would eat each other while in pounds or holding tanks.


Lobsters are traditionally cooked by steam or boiling water. Some folks believe putting a bottle of beer or other special ingredients in the water makes for a tastier lobster.     
            
Begin your meal by removing the claws of the lobster. This is usually accomplished by grasping each and twisting off the claws and knuckles. Twist the knuckles off the claw and set aside so that you are holding only the claw.


There are two types of claws on the lobster. One is for grabbing and holding prey and the other is for crushing. The larger claw is the crusher.     
            
Holding a claw, take the small pincer and break it off. Do the same with the other. You have now exposed the end of the claw. Crack the large body of the claw's shell -- a nutcracker comes in handy here -- and you are ready to start eating.




There are two ways you can get at the claw meat. Break the shell, twist and tear at the shell exposing the length of the claw, or crack the shell open and remove the meat with a small fork.


Lobsters must be a minimum of three and one-quarter inches from the eye socket to the back of the carapace to be of legal size. Lobstermen have a special tool they use to measure lobsters when they are hauled out of the ocean. Lobsters that don't measure up are thrown back.     
            
Lobsters also can be too big. They cannot be more than five inches in length in this area to be considered legal.    
            
These size requirements ensures the availability of breeding stock and helps prevent over-fishing. It is also illegal to remove egg-bearing females from the waters. Fishermen will notch the tails of the female before putting them back in the waters to alert the next fisherman.    
            
If your lobster has a notch cut from the tail, it is illegal and though it is of little good now, you should alert restaurant or fish store management.


Dipping the lobster meat in drawn butter is acceptable, depending on your tastes -- and on your cholesterol level.

You are now ready to enjoy the meatiest part of the lobster -- the tail. There are a number of ways to get at the tail meat. Two are traditional and for another you will need the help of a large pair of kitchen shears.     
            
Twisting the tail off is the easiest and quickest method.



Grasp the tail and body with each hand and twist, turning each in the opposite direction. Then pull the tail free.


Breaking the tail off requires a different method, but the results are the same.



Put the lobster on its back so the underside of the tail is exposed. Take the tail and body in each hand arching the back until you hear a crack. Twist and remove the tail.


Once the tail is free of the body, you are ready to remove the meat. It would appear that you must break the shell off from around the meat to get at it, but there is a much easier way to remove the meat.



Take the flippers of the tail and break them off. Insert a fork, or other small object into the end and push. The tail meat will be pushed out.


Once the tail meat is pushed out, you can take hold of the meat and pull it free the rest of the way.

The next method described involves a pair of kitchen shears. While most restaurants can supply you with a pair of crackers, they are more than likely not going to have a pair of shears to supply to you.     
              
This method is better practiced at home, given the likelihood the average tourist does not carry a pair of large shears with them to restaurants. We should note, however, that some lobster aficionados carry with them a small bag containing all the implements needed to get at even the smallest portion of meat.


Using the shear method, start at the flipper end of the tail and follow the crest of the tail up. Or, flip the tail over and cut up the underside to open the shell.  

(Belowpic11)Cutting up the underside is the easier of the two methods. Once done spread, the tail and remove the meat.    

Another popular method to use with the shears is to cut the entire tail from bottom to top and continue up through the body splitting the lobster in two. This method is practiced in restaurants when the halves are stuffed and then baked. Restaurants usually accomplish this feat with a large chef's knife rather than shears.

Care must be taken to avoid cutting anything but the lobster.



Panel 1:Once the cut is finished, cut down on each side of the head of your lobster.
Panel 2: The green substance inside the body cavity is called the tomalley and is considered by many lobster lovers to be the very best part of a lobster meal.
Panel 3: Once the tail has been split, you can remove the meat easily, or snip the two halves off.


Getting back to the traditional method of eating a lobster: Once you have finished the tail, you are ready to tackle the knuckles. The knuckles are the part extending from the claws that you broke off and set aside early on in your meal. It's now time to enjoy one of the more succulent parts of the lobster.     
             
And before you're done, you can join the legions of lobster lovers who work extra hard to use their teeth to help suck the meat from the lobster's thin appendages.



Identify the space where the knuckle is joined. Break the knuckle open and remove the meat.


Pulling the body.