Lobster Tips and Tricks by Chef Rebecca Charles

Cooking and Picking Lobster Meat:

First of all, it is nearly impossible to get raw lobster meat out of the shell. If you manage, it is because you have virtually torn it out, so it won’t be in very good shape. If you must, you can buy cooked lobster meat in most grocery stores now, though it will cost you more. Some stores will even cook your lobsters for you right on the spot.

If your recipe calls for picked lobster meat, boil the lobster as you would if you were making a boiled lobster dinner. I like to use 1 to 1 ½-pound lobster culls (lobsters with one or no claws, which tend to be less expensive) because there is no sense in spending money on a good-looking lobster when all you want is its meat. The culls will take from 7 to 10 minutes to cook and float when done. Submerge in an ice bath to stop the cooking, then drain.

Separate the tail and claw from the body, saving the body to make lobster stock. Using a towel, lightly crush the tail with the heel of your hand to crack the shell. Bend the sides of the shell back and remove the tail in one piece. Separate the claw from the elbow (or knuckle) by holding the claw in your hand and pressing against the knuckle hard on a flat surface. Hold the claw in one hand and whack the top with the back of a chef’s knife, giving the blade a little twist at the end. If you do this right, it will separate the shell into two pieces. Wiggle the thumb part back and forth and pull it off. If your lucky and careful, the thumb meat will remain attached. Pull the claw meat out.

With the small end of a fork or spoon, pry the meat out of the upper portion of the knuckle. Put the spoon end in again and break off that piece of empty shell. Now pry the meat out of the remaining piece of shell. Cut the tail in half lengthwise, then into ¾-inch chunks. Pull the claw meat apart with your fingers, because there is cartilage in the claws that needs to be removed.

Choosing a Lobster:

(Do I Want a Male or Female Lobster?) I think the females tend to be sweeter and have more meat. To pick a female, look first at the swimmerets, the small feathery appendages on the underside of the tail. If it’s a male, the first pair of swimmerets closest to the body are hard and bony. If it’s a female, all the swimmerets will be soft and feathery. Also, female lobsters have a small rectangular piece of shell between their second pair of walking legs and will have a wider tail than a comparably sized male so they can carry their eggs.

(What is the Difference Between a Hard-Shell and a Soft-Shell Lobster?) A lobster molts as many as twenty-five times in its first five years of life and then once a year. If it gets very large, it may go many years without molting. During this molting time, the flesh shrivels 40 to 50 percent so that it can wiggle from its shell. That’s why when you order a lobster during “soft-shell season” you may be disappointed. But they harden up soon enough, and even eat their old shell to hurry along the process.

(When are Lobsters Least Expensive?) Maine lobstermen fish all year, so price has nothing to do with fishing schedule. It depends on the molting season. When hard-shell lobsters are in short supply, Maine lobster prices are higher. Usually they tend to molt in the beginning of July or around the end of December. When tourists flood Maine beginning on Memorial Day weekend, many more lobsters are consumed, and prices go up and stay there through Labor Day. And don’t forget no matter what time of the year you are buying, when you go to pick it out, you want the liveliest lobster in the tank.

Rebecca Charles is the chef and owner of Pearl Oyster Bar in New York City. She is the author of Lobster Rolls and Blueberry Pie: Three Generations of Recipes and Stories from Summers on the Coast of Maine. This text is excerpted with permission from that book, published by William Morrow (2006).

Photograph of Rebecca Charles by Michael Harlan Turkell; Photographs of lobster boat and lobster roll by Judy Beedle.

Deviled Egg Weather

We fell in love with the Jalama Family Farm Stand the first time we visited. With the help of their respective families, the owners, Erin Pata and Grace and Carla Malloy, raise their own cattle, grow their fruits and vegetables, make their own pickles, jams and preserves and even bake their own bread using wheat grown on their own property. For us, a major highlight of the visit to Jalama Road was getting to taste the super fresh blue and brown eggs that came from the chickens that roam about in Erin’s backyard.

Just this past week, the farm stand officially opened for the 2012 summer. (If you are anywhere near Santa Barbara this summer, consider it a must visit). To top that, on opening day, the Pata family celebrated their 100th year of farming on this same piece of land. Pretty amazing.

In celebration of these two events, we wanted to pass along our two favorite recipes for homemade deviled eggs. The first recipe is from Chef April Bloomfield, owner of the Spotted Pig in New York City. April recently published her first cookbook, A Girl and Her Pig. When we finally got our hands on the book, the first thing we did was flip to the index to see if the Spotted Pig deviled eggs were included. They were.

The second puts together three of our favorite spenser pantry items: Jalama Family Farm Stand eggs, Ann’s Raspberry Farm Brussels sprout relish, and Chef Jonathon Sawyer’s garlic beer vinegar.

We think you can’t go wrong with either recipe. Case in point, we left the farm stand with 3 dozen eggs that day, using them to make both of these recipes, and it didn’t take long for those of us here to realize we should have asked for more.

April Bloomfield’s Deviled Eggs

6 large eggs
3 tbsp. mayonnaise
1 tbsp. champagne vinegar
1 tbsp. crème fraîche
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
Maldon or other flaky sea salt
2 tbsp. finely chopped chives
1 tbsp. finely chopped chervil
Cayenne or paprika
Extra virgin olive oil (optional) for drizzling

1. Fill a medium pot at least halfway with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Use a slotted spoon to gently place the eggs in the water, and cook them for 10 minutes (set a timer). Drain the eggs and run them under cold water until they’re fully cool. Lightly tap each egg against the counter to crack the shell all over, then peel them and pat them dry. Halve them lengthwise with a sharp knife.

2. Scoop the yolks into a small food processor. Add the mayonnaise and blend until smooth, then add the vinegar, creme fraiche, and mustard and blend again. Have a taste and season with salt. For really pretty eggs, feed the mix into a pastry bag (alternatively, you can jerry-rig one with a large resealable plastic bag; snip off a corner before piping).

3. Pop it into the fridge for 30 minutes. Put the egg whites on a plate, cover with plastic wrap, and put them in the fridge as well. Pat the whites dry with a kitchen towel and pipe or spoon an equal amount of the yolk mixture into each white. Top each one off with a sprinkle of the chives and chervil and a dusting of cayenne or paprika. If you like, add a sprinkle of sea salt and a drizzle of olive oil and serve.

Reprinted with permission from A Girl and Her Pig by April Bloomfield. Copyright © 2012 (Ecco). Available here.

spenser pantry Deviled Eggs

6 large eggs
3 tbsp. mayonnaise
1 ½ tbsp. Tavern Vinegar Co. Garlic Beer Vinegar
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
3 tbsp. Ann’s Raspberry Farm Brussels Sprout Relish
Good sea salt
Freshly ground white pepper
Piment d'Espelette

1. Boil, shell and slice the eggs as you would using April’s recipe.

2. Scoop the yolks into a small food processor. Add the mayonnaise and blend until smooth, then add the vinegar and mustard and blend again. Season with salt to taste. Feed the yolk mixture into a pastry bag (or a large resealable plastic bag with one corner snipped off).

3. Pat the whites dry with a kitchen towel and pipe an equal amount of the yolk mixture into each white. Top each one off with small dollop of the Brussels sprout relish and a dusting of sea salt, white pepper, and Piment d'Espelette.