Title: Lobster: How To Eat an American Lobster
Categories: Seafood Info
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Too many people get lobster and eat nothing but the tail and claws. Such a waste, when there is such good eating throughout the whole bug. Diehard Yankees like me pick the hell out of every bit of the lobster body, knowing that there are secret pockets of meat that folks "from away" never get to savor.

Here's where the meat is in a lobster and how to get to it. Remember that a hard-shell lobster might need a nutcracker or a mallet to get through the shell, but a soft-shell lobster will need nothing tougher than your fingers or perhaps a pair of scissors to tear or snip the shell away.

1. Arms and claws: Bend the front arms down and twist them off of the body. Crack the shell (but don't crush it!) and take the big chunks of meat out. Crack the claws and take out the meat there, too. About a third of the meat in the lobster is found here, in the arms and claws.

2. Legs: There are eight spidery legs on the body. Pull each of them off where they meet the body. Chew, twist, and suck on these legs because they are loaded with meat and juice.

3. Body: With the body leg-side down, lift off the carapice. Up by the head is a tissue sac that contains the lobster's crop, brain, and nervous system (it's about the size of the first joint of your thumb.) Pluck that off and discard. See that soft, creamy green (or grey) stuff? That's called the tomalley. It's the liver, but forget about what you think liver tastes like, because it doesn't. Scoop it up and eat it. It's delicious. Or save it for use in sauces and spreads and stuff. Close to the legs are small compartments of meat, very similar to where the meat is in a crab. Between the legs and the body section here, you will find another third of the lobster's meat. While you're in the body, you might find some waxy red stuff (which can also be in the tail.) That's called "coral", and it's the lobster roe. It's also edible and delicious.

4. Tail: Turn the tail over so the transparent white shell is up and the hard shell is down. Use scissors or a sharp knife to slit this white shell, then bend back the tail. The tail meat will come out in one large piece without much effort. And don't forget the little flippers on the end of the tail. There are little flippers of meat inside them, too. The tail accounts for the remaining third of the meat in the lobster.

Dave Sacerdote

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