How to Eat a Lobstah

Compliments of
Mill Brook House
Bar Harbor, Maine

Some general rules before we begin.

Lobstah is fingah food. Use y'hahnds!

Be pr'payahd t'make a mess.

Wear comfortable clothes.

Be pr'payahd t'do some work.

F'get about calories, fats, and c'lest'rol.

Take cayah not t'get cut on the shell.

Most important: Have fun!

Down East Dictionary

lobstah = lobster
fingah = finger
y'haynds = your hands
pr'payahd = prepared
c'lest'rol = cholesterol
nutcrackah = nutcracker
pliahs = pliers
hammah = hammer
flippahs = flippers

Did you know that .....

A female lobster lays as many as 100,000 eggs at a time, but only 1/10 of 1% of these eggs develop and live past 3 weeks.
It can take a lobster 7 years to reach on pound.
A lobster may live 100 years, grow to 3 feet, and weigh as much as 42 pounds.

To allow for growth, a lobster must shed, or molt, its shell. By splitting the back of its shell, the soft lobster is able to squeeze out of its shell, right down to its antennae. Because of its shell-less vulnerability, the lobster hides in a burrow, remaining inactive for 6 to 8 weeks until its new shell hardens.

Softshell is the term used for newly-molted lobsters. Most adult lobsters near Acadia molt in July or August. At this time of year lobsters are usually sold at two prices. A softshell lobster has a shell with room for growth. The part not filled with its body is filled with water. A lower price per pound reflects this. Six to eight weeks after molting, the hardshell name once again applies. Some markets use the name "medium" to describe lobsters that are midway through the shell hardening process. Prices for "medium" lobsters fall between the softshell and the hardshell prices.

How to eat your lobsters ......

Step 1:

Twist off them claws.

Step 2:

Crack each claw with a nutcrackah, pliahs, knife, hammah, rock or whatevah.

Step 3:

Sep'rate the tail-piece from the body by arching the back until it cracks.

Step 4:

Bend back and break the flippahs off the tail-piece.

Step 5:
Insert a fork where the flippahs
broke off and push.

Step 6:
Unhinge the back from the body.

Step 7:

Open the remaining part of the body by cracking apart sideways. You actually split it down the middle and end up with two pieces of the "body".
There is some good meat in this section. It takes a lot of patience but if you work carefully with your fingers you can break apart the small pockets that contain little white "nuggets" of tender (and sweet) meat. The larger the lobster the easier this is to do. Collect this meat and when done you will have a nice little pile of meat. Pour a small amount of hot butter over the pile and enjoy!!!

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