What Taste Great, but Used to Be only Found on Top Notch Menus? How to Enjoy Lobster At Home.

There is nothing like the taste of a good lobster. It has been long thought that lobster is one of those extravagant meals that you only get on special occasions. And no wonder by the time restaurants pay for them and put their mark up, you are close to paying 16 to 20 dollars a pound for them. This does not have to be the case any longer. You can get your lobsters at your local fish market for about 15 dollars a person and cook them at home.

Most people would be intimidated by attempting to cook their own lobster at home. However, with the thousands of recipes that are out there, cooking lobsters is definitely an easy task. Here are a few simple ways to cook your own lobster at home, steaming, grilling, or boiling,

When steaming your lobster, get live lobsters. Put 2 inches of water with salt added into a large pot. Bring to a rolling boil. Add your live lobsters one at a time, holding them just behind the claws. Put the lid on the pot. Once the water is boiling again, cook for 18 to 20 minutes for a hard shelled lobster. Serve with melted butter and your favorite sides.

When boiling lobster, fill a pot with salted water, allowing approximately 2 ½ quarts of water for each lobster. Bring the water to a boil and put in your live lobsters one at a time. Once the water is boiling again, lower the heat and put the lid on the pot. Let them simmer in the pot for about 15 to 20 minutes depending upon their size. Serve with melted butter and your favorite sites.

Finally, another easy way to prepare your lobsters is grilling them. Yes, I did say grilling. Take your lobsters and boil them for about 15 minutes on the stove. Remove them and place them immediately into ice cold water to stop the cooking process. Drain the lobster and prepare them to grill by splitting them down the middle. Remove the black vein, tomalley and sand sac (located by the head). Baste the meat with oil or butter and what ever spice you would like. Place the meat on the grill cooking about 5 minutes, flipping it over and cooking five more minutes on the other side. The flesh should change to a more whitish color when cooked through.

Lobster is no longer for that special occasion. It is seafood that is not as pricey as you might think. It is very easy to prepare in your home and it has a wonderful flavor any time of the year.

Flavia Bindees is a retired chef who specialized in the purchasing and cooking of fresh Seafood for restaurants on the eastern seaboard.