How to Eat Lobster

The shell is a small obstacle to that rich, tender lobster meat. Here's how to get at your dinner.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Skewers
• Butter
• Lobsters
• Butter
• Lobster Picks
• Nutcrackers
• Small Hammers

1. Allow the lobster to cool after cooking.

2. Remove the large claws from the body by twisting them off at the joints.

3. Crack the claws. A nutcracker works for this, but so does the back of a heavy chef's knife, a small hammer or even a rock.

4. Bend the body back from the tail - it will crack and then you can remove the tail. Break off the small flippers on the tail.

5. Push the tail meat out of the tail. It should come out in one piece. Remove the black vein in the tail and discard it.

6. Dip the lobster meat in melted butter and enjoy. Repeat as you unshell more meat.

7. Find the tomalley (the lobster liver; it's green) and discard it - unless you like to use it in sauces.

8. Note that the coral-colored roe in a female lobster is also edible, though you can discard this, too.

9. Crack the body apart to find the meat in four cavities where the small legs join the body.

10. Look for meat in the small walking legs, too, if you have a lobster weighing more than 2 lbs. Push a skewer into the legs to get the meat out.

Tips & Warnings

• Some people eat the coral and tomalley; you can also mash them up, add a little stock or cream, and use the tomalley as a sauce. Tomalley is sometimes called for in recipes such as lobster bisque.
• Pregnant women and nursing mothers are advised not to eat the tomalley in Maine lobster due to high dioxin levels. Others are advised to limit consumption to one meal per month.