The Yankee Kitchen: How to Cook a Lobster

Yankee Magazine Editor Amy Traverso shows you how to cook Lobster. This is the true New England way! Hi. I’m Amy Traverso, Lifestyle Editor at Yankee Magazine, and welcome to the Yankee Kitchen. Today I’m going to be teaching you how to cook lobsters. Not my favorite chore, I have to admit, but the results are worthwhile. So let’s take a look. In this pot I have two inches of boiling water. This technique comes from Bertha’s Lobster Pound in Cape Porpoise, Maine. The idea here is to steam the lobsters rather than boiling them. I’m putting in about three swirls of kosher salt. It doesn’t have to be an exact amount. You just want really salty water that sort of tastes like the sea. Then you get your lobsters. I’m sorry, guys. The lobsters go into the water. Now they will mostly steam. They won’t get waterlogged this way. That’s the advantage. Then you put your lid on, and they cook for exactly 20 minutes. It’s been 20 minutes. My lobsters are cooked. These are a pound to a pound and a halfers, but that 20 minute rule works pretty well for many sizes, cooking the meat without getting it overcooked. All right. So I’ve got my lobsters. They look really good. This technique of putting the two inches of salted water in the bottom, that applies whether you are cooking two lobsters or ten. It’s however many you can fit in your pot. I added a couple more because I want to make some lobster salad. This will give them a nice flavor. When they are steamed instead of boiled, they don’t get as waterlogged. The flavor doesn’t get as diluted, and adding that salt just gives it a little extra flavor. Now for these instructions and more great lobster recipes, you can visit YankeeMagazine.com. I’m Amy Traverso. Thanks for joining us.