Fishbox Guide | Storing and Cooking Lobsters
Friday, September 9, 2016 : 4:39 PM
Our lobsters are caught off the beautiful, rugged Moray Firth coastline and landed in the fishing village of Balintore in Easter Ross. Our lobsters are traditionally creel caught by our local fisherman George.
Lobster is widely considered to be the most prized seafood and appears on the menus of many top restaurants. The meat has a unique, sweet taste.
Lobsters are carnivorous and will eat each other if they meet this is why their claws must be banded when they are caught. If a lobster loses a leg they can grow another one!!
Whilst we make every effort to ensure your lobsters arrive alive on delivery, we cannot guarantee it. If they have expired during the journey they will still be fine to eat provided you cook them straight away.
Storage
Live Lobsters can be stored at the bottom of your fridge, covered with a damp cloth. They can survive for up to four days like this but you should check it regularly and if it dies you will need to cook it straight away.
Once it’s cooked you can store it in your fridge for up to 4 days.
Do not immerse in fresh water as this will kill the lobster.
Never remove the bands on its claws as they will pinch you!
How to get started
We believe the most humane way to kill a lobster is to pop in the freezer for around 30 – 60 mins. This slows down their metabolism to such a low level that they peacefully go to sleep, then they are cooked without even knowing.
Cooking
There are 2 different ways you could cook your Fishbox lobster.
Boiling
This is the easy and less messy option. Put a large pan of water on to boil, add plenty salt and cover with a lid. (Make sure there is plenty room for the lobster and water displacement)
Once the water boils carefully drop in your lobster, put the lid back on and cook on high for 15 minutes for lobsters up to 1 ½ lb and add 5 minutes for every 1lb after that. Your lobster should be a bright red colour once cooked.
Drain the water and allow to cool naturally, if you rinse under cold water you might lose some of the natural lobster flavour.
Once cool rip of the 2 large claws and using a rolling pin or back of a knife, crack them open on a hard surface and carefully pick out the meat (Remember and save the shells if you want to do a soup or bisque!! Be mindful also of a centre cartilage in the claws it sometimes can be missed, it resembles thin white plastic. There is also a lot of meat in the small joints, so make sure and get everything.
For the main body you can either cut right down the centre through the tail to give you 2 even mirrored pieces (Remember to rinse out the head section of any non-meat) or you can rip out the tail piece and discard the head, it’s up to you.
Once the tail is removed though if you squeeze together the triangular fins on the tail it should start to crack, that’s when you turn it over and pull the fins the opposite way, then remove the shell.
The last thing to do is to remove the black line that runs down the top of the tail. If you use a knife and cut over that tail piece (about 3mm down) it should expose this black line and make it easier for you to remove.
Grilling
You will need a decent chopping board and a sharp knife for this. To start you must chop your lobster in half lengthwise.
Preheat your grill or BBQ to a medium heat. Place your lobsters onto the grill shell side down and add a slug of olive oil and any herbs of your choosing. Do not turn the lobster over during cooking or you will lose all the yummy juices. Grill for around 5 – 10 minutes depending on size and until the shell has turned red. Remove the tails when the meat has become firm and white but leave the claws under the heat for an extra minute or 2.
Some Lobsters contain a green liver or "tamale" and females may also have eggs (roe) – these can both be eaten and are considered to be gourmet by many but they’re not to everyone’s taste.
Enjoy this delicious treat from the sea!
