Can You Cook Live Lobsters Humanely?

By Sherry Shantel

Advocates for animal rights will protest the practice of putting live lobsters into boiling water. Their concerns are based on whether or not the lobster is capable of feeling pain. They believe that there has to be a better way to cook live lobsters.

Scientists have searched for information regarding the amount of pain a lobster is capable of feeling. Lobster lovers everywhere may be surprised at what they found.

A lobster has a brain about the same size as a grasshopper has which is pretty minute for a larger animal like a lobster. Lobsters brains are lacking in the complexity human brains have which means a lobster is unable to think.

There's no way a lobster can have a brain like that and have the ability to think or feel like we do. Researchers have concurred that the practice of cooking live lobsters by steaming and boiling and grilling are not inhumane.

Steaming a lobster starts with a four to five gallon pot containing two inches of seawater or salted water and containing a steaming rack being brought to a rolling boil over high heat. Once the pot is up to temperature, add the lobsters one at a time. Put the lid on the pot and start your timer. It takes about 10 minutes to cook one pound of lobster and around an hour for six to eight pounds. Halfway through the cooking time, rearrange the lobsters in the pot.

For every 1 to 2 pounds of lobster you want to boil, add three quarts of water to your large pot. Calculate the total number of gallons of water in the pot, and add one quarter cup of salt for each gallon. Heat the water to a rolling boil and add the lobsters one at a time. It will take about 8 minutes to boil one pound of lobster. Six to eight pounds will take 50 minutes to an hour. Halfway through the cooking time, stir the lobsters.

Grilling lobsters starts the same way boiling them does by cooking them in boiling water for about five minutes. Remove them from the hot water immediately and plunge them into a cold water bath so that they won't continue to cook. Take each well-drained lobster and place it on its back on a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, split each lobster down the middle and cut out the black vein in the tail and the sand sac by the head. Baste the lobsters with melted butter or oil and place them flesh-side down on the grill. Cook them for five to six minutes on that side before turning them over. Baste them again and continue cooking for another four or five minutes.

Although there are still people who spend time advocating humane treatment for lobsters, most are willing to accept the scientific data which says they do not suffer. The only way you can enjoy the taste of truly fresh lobster meat is by steaming, boiling or grilling it. The purchase of live lobsters isn't limited to grocery stores and restaurants any more, either. Online seafood shops will deliver the very freshest lobsters overnight to your home. - 29974

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