What do I do with a lobster?!?

Seriously? I was getting fish off my fishmonger this morning & he had these little cooked lobsters on his display. I must have been staring as he says "do you like Lobster?". I replied it'd been years from I tasted it, but I knew it was very expensive. "Not at all" he replied, and threw one in the bag!!

Now what?!? It's sitting here looking at me, with its wriggly legs & big claws?!?!

Plus- I got a little tub of crab meat to try, but am not fussed on it (just had it mixed through a salad with a little l/f 1000 island? What ways can I try it so it's not wasted?

throw the poor little guy in a hot pot of boiling water

butter it up and mmmmmmmmm

Okay.. take a cheap and cheerful hot dog bun...  slather huge amounts of butter on the lobster..  place on the hot dog bun... feel free to add mayo and or tarter sauce... welcome to the east coast.  Simple and tasty!  Oh and horribly loaded with calories..

You could add bread crumbs or peices of bread and onions and other spices to make a lobster cake(like crab or fish cake).. but again this involves frying....

Use it to stuff shrimp or mushrooms.

Make a dip for veggies.

you could just add some lobster to a nice tossed salad...   

personally i like lobster least of the ocean crustatians...  and i am from the east coast...  do not add salt .. at least till you taste as i find lobster very salty on its own.

Steam them in a BIG pot with salted water at the bottom for about 15-20 minutes.  It's better than boiling -- the meat doesn't toughen up as much.

Then you need to dissect them. http://www.omnomicon.com/lobster-newburg

If you have some left overs, make a lobster roll (google) the next day.

(4 servings)

Crust:

1/2 Recipe plain pastry or 1 Layer pie crust mix for 9" pie pan

Filling:

7 1/2 oz Fresh lump crabmeat (shells and cartilage removed)
3 oz Swiss cheese (grated)
4 Eggs
2 c Table cream
1/3 c Onion (minced)
1 ts Salt
1/4 ts Cayenne pepper
1 tb Fresh parsley (chopped)

Goes well with dry white wine.

Preheat oven to 425°FF.

Crust: Prepare pie crust as directed. Place pastry on the bottom and sides of a 9" pie pan.

Filling: Over the dough, sprinkle all of crabmeat, then all of cheese. In a bowl, beat eggs, cream, onion, salt, and cayenne until blended. Pour mixture over crabmeat and cheese. Sprinkle with parsley. Place pan on a cookie sheet and set on middle rack in oven. Bake at 425°F for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 300°F. Bake 30 minutes more or until knife, when inserted, comes out clean. Remove quiche from oven and let cool 10 minutes. Cut and serve warm. Yields 6 slices.

You can also use crab in an omlette in the morning ;)

Hmm I like to mix crab with salad cream and veggies and then eat it in a toasted pitta.

Or sometimes I`ll make some quinoa, mix it with harissa paste and veggies and your crab then stuff it in a roasted pepper. Its very good!

Pre-cooked lobster, right? Once you get the tail and claw meat out, just lightly steam them to heat (very little - better to be cool than oversteam!) spritz with lemon and dip into melted butter. That's the purest, best way to enjoy, though there are lots of lobster recipes you could check out i am sure.

The crab can be eaten the same way...or, I like it cold on crackers with a smear of mayo/dijon mustard/tabasco sauce, YUM. But frankly I get shellfish so infrequently, due to the price, that I just like to enjoy it in the simplest form, sure it involves some butter but it's a rare treat.

On my birthday we boiled up a live lobster. It didn't scream , but it sort of convulsed when I stuck it in the water head-first, the most humane way to deal with it unless you are an expert in brain-peircing, which I am not...it was unpleasant, and I remembered why I had previously decided not to do that again.

Bisque, if you have some sherry on you! =]

Boiled Lobster dipped in aioli (a mix of egg yolk, olive oil, dijon mustard)... OH BABY it's good!

Original Post by victoriagirl:

On my birthday we boiled up a live lobster. It didn't scream , but it sort of convulsed when I stuck it in the water head-first, the most humane way to deal with it unless you are an expert in brain-peircing, which I am not...it was unpleasant, and I remembered why I had previously decided not to do that again.

Next time put it in the freezer for an hour or two first. It will painlessly go into a deep 'sleep' so it won't feel it when you chuck it in to boil.

Don't throw out those lobster shells - you can make a great lobster soup with it.

give him a name like nippy

Besides putting the crab meat in a salad, it's good as an omelette filling, or just scrambled up with some eggs.  Or have it on crackers, topped with a little melted butter.