To say I was unprepared to cook lobster is a complete understatement. My boyfriend and I decided to have a romantic night in and I suggested lobster, as it was on my list of things I've never cooked but have wanted to for some time. So my boyfriend picked up two 1.5 pound lobsters at Agata & Valentina close to our apartment. When he arrived, lobsters in tow, I was excited, especially after all my talk that it was no big deal. But when he took them out of the bag, they were huge, and they were ALIVE! They were moving much more than I ever envisioned. Now, I had heard about getting lobsters drunk before you kill them, though I don't recall where I heard about this. So I placed them each in their own pots (much too big for both to fit in one), and added an inch of water, a quarter cup of dry vermouth, and some salt. Picking them up the first time was the hardest part. They weren't going down without a fight. Whipping their tails and frantically moving their legs and antennae about, I embarrassingly screamed nearly dropping the first one. But once they were in the water mixture, they calmed down a bit after a while; I'm guessing because they were drunk (my goal exactly!). They seemed to be breathing in the water, looking as though they were blowing bubbles in the water. Priming one of the alcoholic crustaceans... Next, I decided to take this time and prep the other sides. I made a lovely wedge salad, cantaloupe with prosciutto, and some corn on the cob. The corn I just set in boiling water just before I cooked the lobster, the others I'll write about tomorrow. By the time everything was ready, the lobsters were sluggish, and barely moved when I picked them up and moved them to the sink (the boyfriend helped). I set the pots to a simmer, and placed the first lobster onto a cutting board. Lobsters have a cross-shaped indent behind the head. My boyfriend was the braver one, so he went first. Set a sharp knife at the cross behind the head, then confidently and swiftly he pushed down on the knife severing the lobster's spinal cord, killing it instantly. After watching my boyfriend, I picked up the second lobster and took care of that one myself, if only to be able to write here that I had done it. I was very glad that the lobsters were no longer as spirited as they first were. Once they were dead, it was infinitely easier to cook them; especially since my mom told me a story where she had to hold down the cover of a pot as they cooked. That was not something I desired to do, and it was something she never repeated. For one and a half pound lobsters you'll need to cook them for about fifteen minutes (13 for the first pound, 2-3 for each additional pound). Once cooked, serve immediately with drawn butter, lemon wedges, and an adventurous appetite. Another thing we ridiculously forgot was the seafood cracker. We don't even own a nut cracker! In order to get into the lobster, we had to continue our creative streak: we used a sharp knife to carefully slice the claws and the tails open. After this ordeal, I was quite happy with how the lobsters came out. The flesh was tender, delicious, and perfectly pink. Something that made the whole night enjoyable and easier was the fact that the trash chute is right down the hall. My mom hates to have to wait for trash day: my parents live in the woods, and have to freeze any trash that will go bad fast and attract unwanted wildlife! I really enjoyed the lobster, but I think that next time I will let the professionals do the dirty work! Enjoy!
1 Comment
Patricia
10/29/2020 04:27:02 pm
You're a monster. How can you so closely describe how you hurt and mistreated these animals. and then killed them just for their flesh to eat. this is disgusting. how can you not see anything wrong with this?
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