Cooking a lobster?

Question

I bought a lobster but wont cook until tonight, I put it in water but its not moving I think it might be dead. Does that matter? How should I keep it untill Im ready to cook it? Its my first time cooking it so Im really clueless

It was alive when I brought it home It hasnt moved in an hour

Answer 1

If it is dead---do not eat it!
If you just purchased it, return it for a refund!

If it is alive, keep it in the bottom of the fridge, covered with a damp cloth or wet newspapers.

Boiled Lobsters Recipe courtesy Brooke Dojny, The New England Clam Shack Cookbook,
Show: Sara's Secrets
Episode: New England Classics
To replicate at home, just be sure to add enough salt to the water to create the right balance of ocean-briny flavor. A mere swipe through melted butter, a squirt of lemon and that's all anyone needs. Heaven!

2 or 3 tablespoons salt
4 live lobsters (about 1 1/2 pounds each)
1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter
Lemon wedges

Fill a large stockpot about half full of water. Add the salt and bring to a boil. When the water has come to a rolling boil, plunge the lobsters headfirst into the pot. Clamp the lid back on tightly and return the water to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and cook the lobsters for 12 to 18 minutes (hard-shell lobsters will take the longer time), until the shells turn bright red and the tail meat is firm and opaque when checked.
Lift the lobsters out of the water with tongs and drain in a colander. Place underside up on a work surface and, grasping firmly, split the tails lengthwise with a large knife. Drain off the excess liquid. Serve with melted butter and lemon wedges.

Note: Lobsters must be kept alive until they are cooked because their flesh begins to deteriorate soon after they die or are killed. Some experts recommend numbing the lobsters first by placing them in the freezer for about 10 minutes before cooking.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_25147,00.html?rsrc=search

How To Shell A Lobster
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/ck_dm_seafood/article/0,1904,FOOD_19003_1729042,00.html

Answer 2

i just posted this a minute ago for someone else. maybe it can help you

You should never eat dead shellfish just to avoid food posioning but i found this because i was curious...i know you aren't supposed to eat dead crawfish.


Have people been poisoned by eating lobsters that were allowed to die before being cooked? Is it true that a dead lobster deteriorates very rapidly? What happens when a live lobster is frozen?

Lobsters are not poisonous if they die before cooking, but cooking should not be delayed. Many lobsters sold commercially are killed and frozen before cooking. Lobsters and other crustaceans do spoil rapidly after death, which is why many buyers insist on receiving them alive. If the lobster is "headed" before or soon after death, the body meat will keep fresh longer. This is because the so-called head includes the thorax, the site of most of the viscera and gills, which spoil much more rapidly than claw or tail meat.Freezing slows deteriorate changes and harmful chemical actions that follow death.

Answer 3

Hmmmm. I really don't think you want a dead one. Not if it was live when you bought it. Who knows? It may have died because it's diseased!

Anyway, if it's alive, here's what you do:

Put it in a very large pot with about an inch or two of cold water on the bottom (steamer pot is best).

Turn up the head under the pot to about medium, then let the water boil or steam the lobster for about 10 minutes (no more!) Your lobster should be bright red when it's done. Don't overcook!

Answer 4

Boil it whole in lightly salted and buttered water. A 2 pound lobster should take about 15 - 17 minutes after the water is already boiling. Just don't under cook it or you'll get a nasty surprise. You can't really season it until after its cooked so basically you can just dip in in butter or some other sea food dip.

Answer 5

You can keep in in a baking dish full of ice in your fridge until you're ready to cook it. As long as it's very cold, it wont die or go bad.

When you're ready, just put it in a steamer basket over boiling water until it turns bright red. (You can put it in boiling water as well, I just think they're better steamed.)

If you're feeling adventurous, cut it in half lengthwise after it's steamed, put some garlic and butter on it, and stick it under the broiler meat side up for a few minutes just until it starts to brown.

Then grab a fork and dig in. Mmmmm!

Answer 6

if it has died, you should not eat it.
lobster produces chemicals after death thae will make its tail meat inedible.
cook live lobsters only.

Answer 7

No!!! Do not keep them in water at all,,,, keep them in the fridge, in a box covered in a wet towel,,,

Answer 8

is it salt water?
lobster need salt water