Seafood and summer go together, and one of our favorite’s seafood meals during the beach season is lobster. You can cook lobster in many ways, boiled, grilled, baked, and even steamed. Whether you buy the lobster frozen or live, it is your preference. The advantage to a frozen lobster is that you do not have to go through the trouble of killing it. However, it will be necessary to boil the lobster before baking it.
For this, make sure that you boil water first in a deep pot. Once the water is boiling, throw the lobster into the pot (head first) and cook for about three minutes. Remove the lobster from the pot and place it in cold ice or the freezer so the meat does not continue to cook. If you do it in a container with iced water, it will be easier as you will be able to work on it while it cools down. Preheat the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Place the lobster so you can cut it in half lengthwise. Expose the meat on the claws and knuckle with a knife or scissors. To make it easier to get the meat from the claws later, crack these in a few places. It is best to use scissors as you can get a better handle on them, and avoid any accidents. To get rid of the cartilage that covers the tail meat, cut along the side and discard it. Discard the parts of the lobster that you will not eat, the organs or innards (the liver and brains). Transfer the lobster to a baking dish, with the meat part facing up. Next, you will proceed to season the meat, in a simple way, as lobster has its own flavor and you do not need to season it much. For this use a bit of salt, pepper, and olive oil to your preference, however much you like, as this is for flavor and for some moisture, while in the oven. Cook for about 15 minutes at 400 degrees until done. The cooking should be at about 140 degrees; do not overcook, as lobster tends to get gummy or rubbery if overdone. Lobster obtains its red color when it is being cooked.
You can serve the lobster with lemon slices and with melted butter to dip. You can also use olive oil. The great thing about lobster, is that it goes deliciously well with other meats, like steak for example, or you can have it by itself. You can also combine a seafood platter of shrimp and crab, even baked mussels. Although, steak is preferred to chicken in platter combinations, you can also use it.
Another easy thing that you can do is to stuff the lobster before cooking it in the oven with your choice of stuffing. You do this by placing the stuffing inside the cavity of the lobster. For this, you can use premade stuffing or if you have enough time you can make the stuffing from scratch. Use combinations of fillers for the stuffing if you want, cranberries, pineapple or orange pieces, as long as they are citric or have a not too sweet taste. Although this step is optional and it is up to you if you choose to stuff your lobster, to opt for the ingredients that you enjoy best. A favorite is stuffing with pieces of cooked bacon mixed in it.
Lobster is a delicious and light meal, but satisfying as well. It is one of the favorite plates for the summer season.
