How to Cook a Lobster by the Pound
- 1). Choose your lobsters the day you will be cooking. Only cook live lobster to ensure the best quality. Purchase live lobster from the freezer or a tank and transport them home on ice. Cold temperatures cause the lobsters to go dormant and they may appear to have died. Live lobsters will move when handled: check for movement in the legs, antennae or tail. When in doubt, allow them to warm up for a 5 to 10 minutes. They should begin to move.
- 2). Place the lobsters in the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes. This step is not necessary, but it is humane. Freezing numbs the lobster and put them in a dormant state before the plunge into boiling water.
- 3). Prepare your water. You will need approximately two and one half quarts of water per lobster, seasoned with two tablespoons of salt per quart of water. Traditional seafood boil mixes can be added if desired. Many people enjoy a bay leaf or two in the spice mix. Heat the water until you have a rolling boil.
- 4). Plunge the lobsters into boiling water head first, one at a time, holding then underwater with tongs for a few seconds. Cover the pot and bring the water back to a boil. Begin timing the cooking when the water begins to boil again.
- 5). Boil lobster for 10 minutes for the first pound, adding three minutes for each additional pound. Time the cooking according to the weight of the heaviest lobster. Do not increase cooking times for more than one lobster, they each cook separately.
- 6). Remove the lobsters from the pot with tongs and drain them in a colander. Cooking continues even after you pull the lobsters from the pot due to residual heat trapped inside by the shell.
- 7). Check for doneness by tugging on an antennae or small claw; they pull out easily when the lobster is done. Don't rely on color, lobster turns bright red before the inside meat is done.
- 8). Dump the lobster into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking as soon as they have been confirmed to be done. Serve with melted butter and a wedge of lemon.
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