Which parts of a lobster can you eat?
The majority of the lobsters meat is found in the tail and in the two front claws. Smaller amounts of meat can also be found in the legs and in some parts of the body.
Parts which should not be eaten, are the shell, the sac behind the eyes, the black vein running through the tail and the green tomalley, although this is debatable, as some lobster eaters claim this to be the best part.
How to serve lobster
Once the lobster has been cooked, it should be drained immediately on paper towels and served hot.
You can either use lobster crackers to crack the shell in order to reach the meat or cut the claws and the lobster in half with a sturdy knife.
The lobster meat is usually picked out by using a fork and dipped into mayonnaise, melted butter or lemon juice.
Refrigerating cooked lobster meat
If you are not going to eat the lobster right away, it must be cooled immediately by immersing it into ice-cold water. This is so that bacteria are unable to multiply and contaminate the meat.
The lobster should then be drained and stored in the fridge in its shell, in an airtight container for a maximum of 2 days.
If you are going to use the cooked meat for a particular recipe, it is best to remove the meat from the shell before storing it in the refrigerator.
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- Put on the bib.
- Twist off the claws.
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- Crack each claw
and knuckle with a nutcracker, pliers, knife, or hammer. Remove the meat.
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- Separate the tail
from the body by arching the back until it crack.
- Bend back and break off the tail flippers. There’s
meat in each flipper, too!
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- Insert a fork and
push the tail meat out in one piece.
- Remove and discard the black vein
that runs the entire length of the tail meat.
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- Separate the
shell of the body from the underside by pulling them apart
- Discard
the green substance called the tomalley (the liver).
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- Open the
underside of the body by cracking it apart in the middle.
- Lobster meat lies in the four pockets, or
joints, where the small walking legs are attached.
- The walking legs also
contain meat that can be removed by biting down on the leg and
squeezing the meat out with your teeth.
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