How to eat Lobster:

When presented with a whole cooked lobster many people panic. We'll tell you the key points in eating lobster - and then we suggest you refine your skill by practice!

First, while the lobster is cooking you should prepare the butter. Two 1/4 pound sticks of butter should serve four. Some people insist on using drawn or clarified butter, terms which are not universally agreed upon. Others insist that you use unsalted butter. Personally, I don't care if it clarified or just melted. I also like salted butter - this has to be your call. I also like to add lemon juice to the melted butter. Preparing the butter is easy. Melt the butter in a sauce pan over medium heat. For clarified butter, bring it to a boil until the milk solids separate and sink to the bottom of the pan. Skim the foam off and discard, then ladel the clear butter from the solids and place it in a warm cup until the lobster is done.

Now you are ready for the lobster.

Many people start by removing the legs. Hold the lobster in one hand and gently pull the legs off using a twisting motion. There are many small but good pieces of meat in the legs, so don't toss them out. Try this technique - separate the legs at the joints, and pinch the leg to force the meat out. It's not a lot, but good.

Next come the claws. Twist them off at the first joint near the body. Remove the movable part of the claw. Use a nutcracker or crab leg pliers and break off the tip of the large section of claw, revealing the meat. Push the meat from the tip of the claw out the open end. Dip it in the butter and enjoy! There is some 'leg meat' in the front legs - attack this as you would a crab leg - break the leg apart at the joint and remove the meat.

Now remove the tail. Grab the tail with one hand, and the lobster body or back with the other hand. Twist the lobster to separate these two sections. THe tail meat can be removed from the shell by holding the body in a straightened out position and using a fork to reach up inside the shell and pry the meat out. You can also use a food scissors and cut open the shell to remove the tail meat. Peel off or slit the top of the tail meat to reveal the digestive tract or vein. Remove it before eating.

Your lobster will contain some greenish stuff. It's called tomalley and makes up the lobsters digestive system. It is edible, but some argue that eating it isn't smart because any pollutants from the lobsters environment will be concentrated in the digestive system. Your choice here.

Your lobster may contain a mass of red stuff as well. If your lobster is a female it may have unfertilized eggs, or roe, sometimes referred to as 'coral', because of its color. You can eat the roe, and many consider it a delicacy, not unlike caviar. Again, it's your choice.

That's about all there is to eating your whole lobster. It's messy fun, so have some wet wash cloths available. Enjoy!