Lobster - Boil or Steam?

Big difference between whole lobsters and jumbo lobster tails.

Not to copy the same post from the cheap lobster price thread, but currently the New England market is flooded with lobsters in their new shells (soft shelled) and some which have not molted yet (hard shelled). The new shells are very early this year because of the warm winter, and warmer water temps because of it.

Soft shelled ones can't travel, they are too delicate, so you will probably never see them on the west coast. Supposedly according to news reports a couple weeks ago, wholesale they are going for $1.50 per pound. The lobster processing plants are already backed up from the huge glut of lobsters from Canada in the spring, so they can't take them either.

That means that for weeks prices in my area have been $3.99 or $4.99 per pound at one store or another. The boats apparently can't even be bothered to sort them so it's your choice usually of hard or soft at the same price.

As one store advertised recently - Bologna $5.99 per lb. Lobster $3.99. You Choose.

I'll go with steam and with a heavy flavor!

Steam. I find that boiling them makes the lobster more watery.

I think that would be ensure a more painful and slower death. Think about it. If they throw you into boiling, may be more painful at the beginning but you'll die faster.

The logic is being cold blooded their body temperature adjust to water temperature.
This started as theoretical chat around a few lobsters and free flowing wine/beer.

Ya, go ahead and rub it in!

As long as we're telling crustacean horror stories (kiddies might want to look away)...
I remember watching a Chinese cooking show where the chef was preparing a medium sized crab for cooking. The chef is speaking Chinese so I don't know what's going on but I figure she's just describing the dish in question. She's holding the very live crab down on a counter with what looks like a dish towel and chatting away nonchalantly when, without any warning and in a single motion, she uses the towel to rip off the top carapace of the live crab. JHF! It was so sudden and unexpected that I literally jumped out of my chair and shouted out something like "S**t!" or "F**k!" (don't remember which). She quickly followed that up with a cleaver and chopped the crab into large pieces and threw them into a stir fryer. The crab went from "ok" to frying pan in probably less than 10 seconds but, jeez, it scarred me for life! Just thought I'd share.

Okay, one more horror story. A lobster can be lulled to sleep by rubbing the back of its head, just behind the eyes. It'll be totally pliable. Roll it to its back, spread out the claws, then wake it up by thrusting your chefs knife into the thorax, clean it, stuff it and bake it. Or so I'm told.

Also, if you unband a claw and hang it from the rack in your walk in cooler, it will hold on indefinitely.

On topic - prefer steamed, if possible.

Steamed.

Broiled or Baked.

As much as broiling sounded appealing, I'd need a killing and splitting demonstration en vivo first. Coming from crab country, I didn't feel like a $40 disaster for dinner (and that was only because the price was 'so low')

They're $5.99/lb until Sunday (8/5) at H-Mart in Norwalk (according to Google, about 30 miles from Santa Monica). Don't know if it's worth the drive for you or not.

Much appreciate the info but, given the savings, I think even Norwalk is too far.
Still, thanks anyway.

Damn! Now I'm in the mood for butter poached lobster risotto with sauteed chantrelles and maybe some fresh peas (added at the very end, just to heat them up a bit). Guess I'm headed off to Costco or Albertsons this weekend to find me some (overpriced) lobster.

Not sure how exactly how they do it, but we always get the broiled lobsters when we go to Francisco Centro Vasco.

Here's my 3 pounder from our last visit.

OK, now THAT is just lobster/food porn! More, please!

--added . . . I checked out the menu. The prices seem VERY reasonable for NYC.