Faq
Frequently Asked Questions
Receiving Your Shipment
Packaging
How to Cook a Lobster
How to Crack a Lobster
Do not put your live lobsters in the sink, bathtub, or other fresh water source such as ice, as they are a salt water crustacean they require ocean water to survive and will drown otherwise.
Once you receive your package, open the box to inspect your shipment. Lobster Fresh Direct guarantees your live lobsters will arrive fresh, and full of life upon arrival. They should feel damp, and cold to the touch, and respond to being handled. Once you have checked to make sure everything in the box is in order. Close the box until you are ready to cook the lobsters. (See our F.A.Q section for cooking instructions). Once the lobsters are cooked, they can last an additional 3-4 days when properly refrigerated.
Any fresh seafood should be refrigerated immediately upon arrival until it is ready to eat. Fresh seafood can last up to a day and a half in the fridge without losing any of its flavour and freshness. Do not leave fresh seafood in the fridge for longer than 3 days, as there is a better chance it has gone bad.
Lobster Fresh Direct advises it’s customers to cook all the fresh seafood the day of arrival to maintain the utmost freshness.
Live lobster will survive at least 24-36 hours while being shipped
Lobsters are a very hardy creature, as long as they are kept moist, and cold. This is why Lobster Fresh Direct uses only top of the line products when packing your order.
Each order is packed in a specially insulated box to protect the products, complete with non-toxic, reusable ice packs that will keep everything nice and cold for the duration of the shipment.
If there is live lobster in the box, we add soaker pads that hold in that cold, fresh Nova Scotia ocean water to keep the lobster wet during their trip.
We recommend cooking your lobsters the day you receive them. If you are not planning on eating the lobster the day you receive them, please look under our Frequently Asked Questions (F.A.Q) section for tips on cooking and freezing your lobster so they stay fresh until you are ready to serve them.
Add ½ cup of salt per gallon of fresh water to get that authentic maritime lobster taste!
Fill a large stockpot with enough water to cover the lobsters, and bring to a boil over high heat.
Remove the elastic bands, and put the live lobsters headfirst into the boiling water. (place the largest lobsters in first, as they require a bit more cooking time)
Allow the water to boil again, and then turn the heat down to medium.
Cover the pot and let the lobsters cook
• 1 lb for 11-12 min,
• 1.25 lb for 15-16 min,
• 1.5 lb for 18-20 min,
• 2 lb for 22-24 min,
• 4 lb for 24-28 min,
• 8 lb for 28-32 min
Remove the lobsters from the water
If you are not eating the lobsters right away, place the hot, cooked lobsters in a sink with cold, salted water so they will stop cooking process (if this is not done, the lobsters will continue to cook in their shell, and become over cooked).
Warning: The Female lobster roe (eggs) will look like a black jelly-like substance if the lobster is not cooked enough. The roe will turn red when cooked. If this occurs, place the lobsters back in the boiling water for a few more minutes until the roe turns red.
Notes: Live lobsters will have a dark green colour to them, but will turn bright red while cooking.
Lobsters make a high-pitched sound when they are boiled. Although it sounds like they are crying, it is actually the result of gases being released under their shells.
- Twist off the claws
- Crack each claw with a cracker
- Twist the tail and separate it from the body
- Bend back the flippers on the end of the tail
- Insert a fork where the flippers have been broken off and push out the meat
- Separate the back from the body of the lobster. The body contains the “tomally” or liver of the lobster which turns green when it’s cooked. Many people consider this the best part of the entire lobster
- Split the body in half as there is some good meat in the body / knuckles where the legs join the body
- The small claws or legs are great eating as well. These legs can be placed in the mouth and the meat can be sucked out like sipping through a straw
