[shel]

So many people seem to throw live lobsters into a pot of boiling water. Isn't that a bit cruel, causing a lot of pain for the lobster? It's a very simple matter to kill the creature first. Is there some reason not to kill the lobster first - does it taste better?

BTW, I've done this myself but now I prefer to kill the lobster first.

Shel

[Anneke]

Lobsters have no cerebral cortex to register stimuli. I'm not bothered by it personally, but there are a couple of considerations. If you are using boiling water, it will be a quicker orderal if the water remains at a rolling boil so make sure you have lots of water in your pot. The second consideration is that lobsters release a toxin in their bodies when they die. That's why I prefer death to be followed quickly by cooking to stop this natural process in its tracks. I'd rather put a live lobster in my stock pot than a dead one.

[abgstat]

I wouldn't know if they feel pain or not, but I always put them in head first....I guess the reasoning is that that way, they're not aware of their tails burning up?!?

[Ninja_59]

I put mine in the freezer for 2 hours

[abgstat]

Ninja, do you think by doing that changes the taste at all?
I remember the first time I made stuffed lobster and the recipe said to place the lobster on it's back and with a sharp cleaver, pierce through the head and then lengthwise through the body. Poor lobster, it took me about 45 minutes to complete "the job"......everytime I put that knife to him/her, he/she writhed in "pain".....but the end product was quite tasty!
AB

[Ninja_59]

Hi abgstat,

Honestly no, I'm not a pro chef, just that I feel its a humane way to do it.

Also, for a quick death, you cut it right away on the lenght with a very sharp knife ( that I took on Jean Soulard show in Montreal ) , its fast and more humane, I think so anyway.

I cut him with the scale on top, thats what Jean Soulard demonstrated

I guess your method is as good as mine


More answers from pro chefs here will follow

[KYHeirloomer]

I remember quite a few years ago reading about an experiment. The conclusion was if you drop them in boiling water the react to it, sometimes giving a squeak. But they do die fairly quickly.

If you put them in cold water, however, and bring it up to a boil, they happily adjust to the change in temperature until kicking the bucket.

Nothing was said about what effects slow boiling had on the taste or texture of the flesh.

Personally, I just drop 'em in boiling water. The few times I can get them without a second mortgage.

[KYHeirloomer]

"Lobsters have no cerebral cortex to register stimuli."

Huh? Tell ya what. Let's unpeg (nowadays, cut the bands off) one, and you wave your hand in front of it, and we'll see if it registers stimuli or not.

[Anneke]

Sorry Heirloomer, I'm not a scientist; I didn't make this up.

Along the same not-so-scientific line, I question this idea that slicing their heads is more humane. I never timed it, but I'm pretty sure they squirm on my cutting board longer when they are sliced apart than when they are boiled.

I guess we'll never really know til we reach the pearly gates and make it past the lobster picketing lines. But then, killing a pig, a chicken or an oyster ain't pretty either. We must all decide for ourselves where we draw the line.

[Suzanne]

The sushi assistant where I used to work would apologize to the lobsters before he plunged them into the boiling water. I doubt it made the lobsters feel any better, but it cleared his conscience.

Me, when I've had to just tear the lobsters apart without doing anything else first, I had no qualms. Am I totally heartless and cruel? I like to think not. This is not a debate to ever be settled, though, just like the others about "humane" treatment of animals.

I would think, though, and this is just a guess on my part, that hard-shell lobsters might be better to start in cold water and then bring up to boiling (if you like to do it that way for whatever reason), while soft-shells should go directly into boiling water. This has nothing to do with their death, though, but rather with their propensity to take on more water before the shell is hardened completely by cooking. Soft-shells are recently molted, and have a larger shell than the meat needs, so there is space that is already filled with water, and might take in more. My guess is that plunging them into boiling water is akin to sealing/searing them -- even though we all know that searing doesn't keep juices inside meat, it does form a sort of protective shell.