How to Eat Lobster
Besides being very tasty, lobster is full of nutrients, such as protein, vitamins, and minerals. However, this delicate dish can look quite tricky when ordering it at a restaurant or having it at home for a special meal. Fortunately, eating this crustacean can be easier than you may think.
5-Minute Crafts has prepared this useful guide to teach you how to eat lobster like a pro.
❗ Make sure you allow your lobster to cool down before handling it.
Get familiar with lobster tools.
In some restaurants, they’ll provide certain tools when ordering lobster, which can also be found at the market. These can consist of the following:
- Lobster cracker: It is used to crack the lobster’s claws. If you don’t have one of these, a nutcracker or a chef’s knife will work just fine.
- Lobster pick: It can help you pull out the meat through different parts of the lobster, such as the knuckles. You can replace this tool with a cocktail fork, the back end of a spoon, or a regular fork.
1. Twist the claws to separate them from the knuckles.
Then remove the knuckles by twisting them off. You can push the meat out of this part with a lobster pick or the handle of a fork by breaking the knuckles at the joint with a nutcracker or a chef’s knife.
2. Crack the claws with a knife, nutcracker, or any other strong utensil.
Then use the handle of a fork to remove the meat from inside this piece.
3. Remove the tail from the body.
You may do so by bending it back until it cracks, or laying the tail on its side over a flat surface and pressing it down firmly until it breaks off.
4. Arch the tail back and remove the flippers.
In the tail, you will find the digestive tract of the lobster, which looks like a black vein. In order to remove it, make a superficial cut along the center of the top surface and pull the vein out with the tip of a knife. If possible, you can also rinse it out by using cold water.
5. Place a fork where the flippers used to be and push the meat out of the other end.
6. Separate the back shell from the body.
Here, you will find the “tomalley” of the lobster, which goes green after being cooked. Although many people consider this piece the best one to eat, it’s not advisable to consume it regularly. This part is the lobster’s liver and, just like with other animals, it can have contaminants.
7. Crack apart the remaining piece of the body.
In this section, you will find more meat.
8. Remove the legs by twisting and pulling them from the body, and suck out the meat, just like a straw.
