Portland Lobster Pound & Fish Market

Cooking Instructions

Cooking Your Lobster

Live lobsters should be kept cold until your ready to cook them; do not place them in fresh water (as in a bathtub), because fresh water kills them.

To Boil: Fill a large kettle 1/4 full of water, allowing about 2 1/2 quarts of water for each lobster. If sea water is not available, add two tablespoons of salt for each quart of water. Bring the water to a boil. Put in the live lobsters one at a time and return to boil. Cover the kettle and simmer about 10 minutes for one-pound hard-shell lobsters. Add 3 minutes per pound for each additional pound. When the antennae pull out easily, the lobsters are done.

To Steam: Put about 2 inches of salted water in the bottom of a large kettle. Bring to a rolling boil and put in the live lobsters, one at a time. Cover kettle, return water to boil and begin timing. Allow 13 minutes for one-pound hard-shell lobsters. Add 3 minutes per pound for each additional pound. When the antennae pull out easily, the lobsters are done.

Note: If the lobsters are new shell Maine Lobsters with soft shells ("shedders"), reduce boiling or steaming time by 3 minutes.

(By the way, lobsters do not have vocal cords and thus do not scream or vocalize when cooked. Any sound you hear could be that of air escaping from the lobster's body cavity as it expands from heating.)

The best way to store cooked lobster meat is in the shell, to prevent it from drying out.

Courtesy of the Maine Lobster Promotional Council