Lobster - boiled or steamed
Source: poollobster.com
To Boil: Fill a large lobster pot three-quarters full of salted water (use 1 tablespoon of salt for each quart of water). Bring the water to a rolling boil. Put the lobsters in the pot, making sure they're completely submerged. Cover the pot and begin timing, maintaining the boil, as follows:
1 - 2 pound lobsters: approximately 18 minutes
2 pound or larger lobsters: 22 - 25 minutes
To Steam: Put about 2 inches of salted water in a large pot (use 1 tablespoon of salt for each quart of water). Put the lobsters in the pot, and cover tightly. Begin timing, and boil for the times listed above.
To partially cook your lobsters for reheating and eating later, follow the instructions above but subtract 5-7 minutes from the cooking time. After you've par-cooked them, dunk them in cold water for 3 minutes, drain, and refrigerate. You can finish cooking them any time up to 48 hours later.
How to Crack & Eat Lobster
1. Twist off both lobster claws where they meet the body. Break off the knuckles where they attach to the main part of the claw.
2. Crack the claws, using a nutcracker, pliers, or even a hammer if the shell is very hard. Pick the meat from the claws.
3. Use a small fork or pick to pick the meat from the knuckles.
4. Separate the lobster tail from the body by bending the tail back and using a twisting motion. Break off the flippers by bending them back. You'll find tidbits of meat in the flippers.
5. Insert a fork into the end of the tail where the flippers break off and push out the chunk of tail meat. Remove the black vein that runs down the middle of the tail.
6. Remove the small legs attached to the body, and suck the bits of lobster meat from each leg.
7. Crack the body apart lengthwise. Pick the meat from the body cavities with a small fork or pick. The body contains "tomalley," the lobster's liver. Tomalley turns green when cooked, and many consider it a delicacy.