Lobster- it’s not just for broiling anymore!

In addition to the traditional bisque and newburg, how about marinara, Asian-style, florentine (with spinach and white wine), stuffed, fra diavolo (with brandy and mustard), Americaine (with tomatoes, garlic and brandy), as part of a cold salad, a warm stew, a decadent club sandwich, a hot clambake or instead of the Canadian bacon eggs benedict. In Australia, we’ve eaten lobster salad with grilled pineapple and in Spain we enjoyed langosta con pollo (lobster and chicken tossed with hazelnuts, tomatoes and cocoa). More ideas -- soufflé, pate, au gratin and poached in coconut milk. Got you thinking?

The Lobster Market

First things first, though -- we've got to buy them before we think about how to prepare them. It will be an easy decision whether you are buying fresh or frozen -- for fresh you either need a tank (lobsters can live about two days out of water, stored in the refrigerator packed in seaweed or damp paper, but that’s pushing it) or the ability to use them right away. Fresh lobster obviously comes in only one form -- whole. This is an advantage if you make stock (the shells add a wonderful color an flavor) and if your menu allows you to use the all the lobster meat, the tomalley (the greenish-colored liver) and the coral (eggs found in the female).

Fresh lobster are classified by weight with the most popular being the quarters (1 ¼ pounds) and the selects (1 ½- 2 ¼ pounds). Jumbos are available at certain times of the year, but at 2 ½ pounds they may be cooked and not very flavorful. Rule of thumb for lobster calculations is a yield of ¼ pound of meat from a 1 pound whole lobster.