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Facts About Lobsters

American Lobster Facts

The American lobster (Homarus americanus) is found in waters of the North Atlantic from Labrador to North Carolina. They are caught in waters ranging in depth from 15 to 1000 feet, in wire mesh traps.

Small lobsters are called chickens and will range in size from 1 to 1 1/8 pounds, Jumbos will weigh in at over 3 1/2 pounds. To give you an idea of the meat yield of lobsters, it takes four to six chicken lobsters to have one pound of meat.

The meatiest part of the lobster, is the tail, you will also find meat in the claws, body and knuckles. The claws of a lobster are named, one being the ripper and the other being called the crusher. Make sure to keep these banded when handling and cooking to prevent any injuries to yourself.

The lobsters will shed its shell every year, the meat at this time will be watery and and limp.

Live lobsters can be kept in a refrigerator for about 24 hours or in cooler with a temperature of 33 to 40 degrees, if you keep them moist with moist seaweed, wet paper towels or newspaper. Lobsters will suffocate if you immerse them in water or put them on ice.

A live lobsters color will range from a brownish rust to bright blue to greenish blue.

Cooking Lobster

Lobster meat is firm , sweet and mild in flavor, with the tail meat being a little firmer than the meat of the claw. All lobster will turn a bright red when cooked, the cooked meat will be white with tinges of red.

Make sure that your lobsters are active, you want their tails to curl and not just dangle. If the lobster is dead do not cook it. It is also advised not to eat the tomalley, that light-green substance you will find inside. This is the pancreas and liver, which is thought to have contaminants in them from the lobsters environment.

Just about everyone that cooks a lot of lobster will have their own opinions on the best way they should be cooked. Steaming is said to not toughen the meat, while boiling seals in the flavor from the lobster.

A good rule of thumb for cooking live lobster is a 1 1/4 pound should be cooked 12 15 minutes and for larger lobsters to cook about 17 minutes.

Ways to Cook it: Bake, Broil, Grill, Steam

Texture: Firm

Flavor: Mild