How to Boil and Eat Lobster

"Years ago, my first job out of college was in Boston; I lived in the North End, above D’Amore’s Italian restaurant on Salem Street, right across from a little fish market. This was a magical time, to be in one’s early 20s, exploring the back streets of Boston, feasting on the sights, sounds, and smells, alone or with friends. I was amazed that I could buy fresh lobster across the street from where I lived, at the fish market, for $4.99 a pound, still a luxury at that time, but within reach. (This summer, 27 years later, I bought lobster for $5.99 a pound, a bargain for this Californian!) That summer as often as I could I rounded up friends to enjoy a lobster feast. I still have the big aluminum pot I used. We don’t have American lobsters out here in California. (Well we do, but they’re shipped in from New England, and frankly they just aren’t as good as lobsters bought near the sea shore on the East Coast.) So whenever I’m in New England in the summer (according to my local friends, summer is the best time for lobsters, they’re more plentiful and therefore less expensive) I make a point to have some. Now, there are many ways to cook lobster, and probably just as many ways to eat it. Boiling is the most straightforward way to cook lobster, though I recall doing a lot of steaming of lobsters too when I lived in Boston. The steps I’ve laid out here are as much for my benefit as they are for yours. I don’t eat or cook lobster that often, so it helps me remember what to do when I do get the chance. I like my lobster dipped in hot melted butter, so that’s what is presented here. Some people just like a squirt of lemon juice, or dipped in mayonnaise. Some people meticulously extract the meat from every little leg. I skip them and go for the claws, knuckles, and tail. For me, cooking lobster is something you do for a gathering of friends and family. It’s so much fun, so messy, and so good, it’s just meant to be shared. Do you have a favorite lobster memory? Or special tip for buying, storing, cooking, or eating lobsters? Please let us know about it in the comments...."