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How to Boil Lobster

Learn how to cook lobster with our comprehensive, easy-to-follow guide featuring tips for buying, storing, boiling, and, of course, eating.

Plate of Lobster with Lemon Halves and a Bowl of Butter Sauce

We don't have American lobsters out here in California. Well we do, but they're shipped in from New England, and frankly they just aren't as good as lobsters bought near the sea shore on the East Coast.

So whenever I'm in New England in the summer (according to my local friends, summer is the best time for lobsters, they're more plentiful and therefore less expensive) I make a point to have some.

Now, there are many ways to cook lobster, and probably just as many ways to eat them. Boiling is the most straightforward way to cook lobster, though you can easily steam them too.

I like my lobster dipped in hot melted butter, so that's what is presented here. Some people just like a squirt of lemon juice, or dipped in mayonnaise. Some people meticulously extract the meat from every little leg. I skip them and go for the claws, knuckles, and tail.

For me, cooking lobster is something you do for a gathering of friends and family. It's so much fun, so messy, and so good, it's just meant to be shared.

Two whole lobsters on a plate with Lemon Halves and a Bowl of Butter Sauce

How to Buy and Store Lobster

When choosing live lobsters from the market, look for the ones that are most lively, don't have any noticeable cracks on their shells, and do have all of their parts (not missing legs or claws). Look for lobsters that are 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds, which is a good size for the average eater.

As soon as you get your lobsters home, put them in the refrigerator to keep them cold. Do not store them in tap water. Store them in a sturdy paper bag in your fridge.

If you have to transfer the lobsters, pick one up by its body, not claw or tail.

Lobsters can live only up to 36 hours after they've been removed from seawater, so buy lobster the day you intend to cook it, and don't wait too long to cook it.

Happy Memories of Cooking Lobster

Years ago, my first job out of college was in Boston; I lived in the North End, above D'Amore's Italian restaurant on Salem Street, right across from a little fish market. I was amazed that I could buy fresh lobster across the street from where I lived, at the fish market, for $4.99 a pound, still a luxury at that time, but within reach. (This summer, 27 years later, I bought lobster for $5.99 a pound, a bargain for this Californian!)

That summer as often as I could I rounded up friends to enjoy a lobster feast. I still have the big aluminum pot I used.

Do you have a favorite lobster memory? Or special tip for buying, storing, cooking, or eating lobsters? Please let us know about it in the comments.

A cracked open lobster on a plate with a whole lobster next to it

Ingredients

  • Live lobsters, 1 per person

  • A large pot of salted water

  • Salt, for seasoning the water

  • Butter

  • Bread for dipping into the lobster-infused butter (optional)

Method

How to Boil Lobster

First consider the size of your pot for boiling the lobsters. An 8-quart pot will easily take one lobster, a 16-quart pot, 2 or 3 lobsters. If you are cooking a lot of lobsters you'll either need to cook them in stages or have more than one pot of water boiling.

  1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil:

    Fill a large pot 3/4 full of water. Add a tablespoon of salt for every quart of water. The water should be salty like sea water (in fact you can use clean sea water if you have it). Bring the water to a rapid boil.

  2. Lower the lobsters into the pot:

    Grasp the lobster by the body and lower it upside down and head first into the boiling water. Continue to add the live lobsters to the pot in this manner. Cover the pot.

    A lobster being placed head first into boiling salted water

    Simply Recipes / Elise Bauer

  3. Boil lobsters for 7 to 14 mins, depending on size:

    Note the time at which the water comes to a boil again. From that point, boil the lobsters for 7 to 14 minutes or longer, depending on the size of the lobster. 7 to 10 minutes for a 1-pound lobster, 8 to 12 minutes for a 1 1/4-pound lobster, and 10 to 14 minutes for a 1 1/2-pound lobster. Add 2 minutes for every additional 1/2 pound. The lobsters should be a bright vivid red color when done.

    Note that larger lobsters will turn bright red before they are completely finished cooking, so you do want to time your cooking, and not just go on color alone.

    Unlike with fresh scallops or fish that you can eat raw (think sashimi), you don't want to eat raw or undercooked lobster. Translucent undercooked lobster meat really doesn't taste good. It needs to be opaque through and through. If you cook it too long, the meat will get rubbery, so keep an eye on the time.

     

    Two boiled lobsters being pulled from water with tongs
  4. Remove the lobsters from pot to drain:

    Remove the lobsters from the pot with tongs and place on a plate to drain and cool.

    Did you enjoy this recipe? Let us know with a rating and review!

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