How to Cook Raw Lobster

Lobsters turn red when cooked.

You can cook raw lobster by boiling, grilling or steaming, depending on your preference. When selecting a raw lobster to cook, select one that appears active with a tail that curls downward when it is picked up. The University of Maine's Lobster Institute website notes that lobster meat is high in amino acids, calcium, iron, potassium and zinc among other nutrients. When cooking your lobster, it is important to cook it until it is finished and reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit or its flesh becomes pearly and opaque.

Things You'll Need

• Lobster
• Large pot
• Stove top
• Grill
• Salt
• Butter or oil

Instructions

Boiling

1. Fill your pot with salted water. Use approximately 2 1/2 quarts of sea or salted water for each lobster you are boiling. To make salted water, add 2 tablespoons of salt to the pot for each quart of water you use.

2. Boil the water and place the lobsters in the pot. Once the water has reached a boil, put each individual lobster in the pot and allow the water to return to a boil.

3. After the water has begun to boil again, turn the heat down and allow the lobsters to simmer. Let the lobsters simmer until cooked. The Lobster Institute website notes that hard shell lobsters between 1 and 1 1/4 pounds should simmer for 15 minutes, while larger lobsters require a longer cooking time.

Grilling

1. Precook the lobster. Parboil the lobster for five minutes in boiling water and then immediately immerse the lobster in cold water to stop the cooking process.

2. Prepare the lobster for the grill. Lay the lobster down legs side up and slice it up the middle with a sharp knife. Remove the tail's black vein, the green colored tomalley from its body and the sand sac near the lobster's head. Brush over the meat with oil or melted butter.

3. Grill the lobster. Place it flesh side down on the grill for five to six minutes, until the flesh starts to look opaque. Turn the lobster over, baste it again and allow it to grill until it is cooked through, generally for four to five more minutes.

Steaming

1. Place two inches of sea or salted water in the bottom of your large pot and bring the water to a rolling, high-heat boil.

2. Place the lobsters in the water. Quickly put each lobster in the pot individually before placing the lid on the pot and returning the water to a boil.

3. Allow the lobster to cook. Once the water begins to boil again, leave the lobster in the water until it turns bright red. For 1 to 1 1/4 pound hard shell lobsters, the cooking time is roughly 18 minutes, notes the Lobster Institute, with larger lobsters taking slightly longer and soft shell lobsters taking a few minutes less.

Tips & Warnings

• Ice your lobster before cooking to minimize movement.

References

• U.S. Food and Drug Administration: Preparing Seafood
• Indiana 4-H: Shellfish
• University of Maine Lobster Institute: Cooking and Eating a Lobster