The market · Fish and seafood · The Americas, Northern and Central Europe, France and the north-west
Lobsters
Firm, sweet, dense meat in the tail and claws. The European blue lobster is finer and dearer; the American is more plentiful.
sweet · rich · firm
What to do with it
Kinds
- European (blue)
- Blue-black alive; finer, sweeter, dearer.
- American / Canadian
- Brown-green alive; the one most often sold live abroad.
- Spiny / rock lobster
- No claws; all the meat is in the tail.
Goes with
Knowing it
- Where to buy
- Alive and lively, heavy for its size, with both claws. Females carrying eggs should go back in the sea, not on sale.
- Worth knowing
- Chill it in the freezer for 20–30 minutes, then kill it with a knife through the cross on its head. Twist off the claws and give them a couple of minutes longer than the tail. For the most tender tail, poach the raw meat in butter at around 55–60°C.
