The Best Ways to Cook Live Lobsters

What's the most humane way to turn a live lobster into a succulent dinner? The debate has gone on for years with lobster eaters claiming the lobsters feel no pain when they're tossed alive into boiling water, and lobster advocates demanding that better ways be found for killing and cooking live lobsters.

Scientists have searched for information regarding the amount of pain a lobster is capable of feeling. Lobster lovers everywhere may be surprised at what they found.

A lobster has a brain about the same size as a grasshopper has which is pretty minute for a larger animal like a lobster. Lobsters brains are lacking in the complexity human brains have which means a lobster is unable to think.

Scientists have concluded that there is no way a lobster's brain is complex enough for the lobster to be able to feel pain when plunged into boiling water. The findings have ended the debate about cooking lobsters, at least for now, by saying it's okay to boil, steam, and grill live lobsters.

Steaming a lobster starts with a four to five gallon pot containing two inches of seawater or salted water and containing a steaming rack being brought to a rolling boil over high heat. Once the pot is up to temperature, add the lobsters one at a time. Put the lid on the pot and start your timer. It takes about 10 minutes to cook one pound of lobster and around an hour for six to eight pounds. Halfway through the cooking time, rearrange the lobsters in the pot.

For every 1 to 2 pounds of lobster you want to boil, add three quarts of water to your large pot. Calculate the total number of gallons of water in the pot, and add one quarter cup of salt for each gallon. Heat the water to a rolling boil and add the lobsters one at a time. It will take about 8 minutes to boil one pound of lobster. Six to eight pounds will take 50 minutes to an hour. Halfway through the cooking time, stir the lobsters.

Before grilling lobsters, you have to parboil them. Use the same procedure you use when boiling lobsters, but only boil them for five minutes. Remove the lobsters immediately and plunge them into cold water to stop the cooking process, and then drain them thoroughly. On a cutting board, lay a lobster on its back. Split it down the center with a sharp knife and remove both the black vein in the tail and the sand sac near the head. Use butter or oil to baste the lobsters before placing them flesh-side down on the grill for five to six minutes. Turn them over, re-baste, and finish cooking another four or five minutes.

Although there are still people who spend time advocating humane treatment for lobsters, most are willing to accept the scientific data which says they do not suffer. The only way you can enjoy the taste of truly fresh lobster meat is by steaming, boiling or grilling it. The purchase of live lobsters isn't limited to grocery stores and restaurants any more, either. Online seafood shops will deliver the very freshest lobsters overnight to your home.

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