To make sure you have the ultimate experience, choose your lobster well. Here are a few tips to keep in mind when it comes time to buying our crustacean friends.

First of all, the major portion of flesh is found in the tail, the legs and the claws of the lobster.

To get the freshest lobster possible, really take the time to observe them in their big aquarium-like basin at the supermarket. You want to pick the ones that seem the liveliest, no matter how plump and appetizing the lazy one at the bottom looks. A slower-moving lobster means that it has been there for a lot longer than the little nervous one that is moving around quickly.

Another sign of freshness is the shell. If it’s thick and hard, you’ve got yourself a freshly-caught lobster and it is also a sign of abundant flesh.

As to the question of “male or female, which is better?” I would answer: there is no significant difference in flavour between them. But big lobster fans will usually ask for the female because the flesh tends to be more tender than the male lobster. The reason for this is that female lobsters don’t move around as much as the males. They sit around and stay with their little ones while the males go off to fight and catch food. Males are more likely to have a tougher flesh or have a missing claw or a missing leg because of this. People also tend to prefer the females because of the eggs, or roe as they are called. A small trick to find out if the lobster is a male or female, just flip it over and look at the small legs close to the tail. If the legs that are closer to the body are soft and feathery, you’re holding a female lobster. If the legs are stiff and hard, you’re holding a male lobster.

Pretty much everything inside a lobster is edible. In some countries, it is even common to eat the brain, the eyes and the digestive tract. But usually, people tend to avoid the stomach, which is situated just behind the head, as well as the intestine, which you should remove. It is easy to recognize, it looks like a little black vein, which goes all the way down to the tip of the tail. Sometimes you can find a sort of dark and viscous substance in the tail; these are the eggs of the female that were ready when she was caught. Just rinse the lobster to get rid of them.

The number of ways you can prepare lobster is infinite. Again it’s really just a question of taste! Boiled lobster, on the barbecue, steamed, in the oven, poached…All it takes is a bit of imagination! I suggest skewering your lobster to keep the tail from curling during cooking… Speaking of cooking, you know it is well cooked when the flesh has lost its transparency or when you can see its bright red colour, usually, about 8 to 10 minutes per pound. Be careful not to overcook it. If you have a big lobster, consider cooking the different parts separately, since they don’t all take the same times to cook. If you have a smaller lobster, you can go ahead and cook it all at once.

I hope I’ve given you the craving to go and try the king of the crustaceans! Any lobster recipes to share? Send them over, we’d love to hear from you!
Warren