# Cooking lobster in a humane way?? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 13, 2003, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-lobster-in-a-humane-way/174873 "2003-05-13T04:38:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Shana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3bc359/32.png) [@Shana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shana)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-lobster-in-a-humane-way/174873/1 "2003-05-13T04:38:21Z")
Hi all…I was just wondering if any of you know the right way to cook a lobster so that he/she will feel a minimum of pain and suffering? I’ve heard different methods, but they all sound a bit grisly. Maybe I just don’t have the stomach for it…I was wanting to put the lobster on the grill. Have no idea how to go about that. Plus, it seems an awful thing to do to a living thing - Something that would surely affect my Karma.😉 Eeek. I may have to get drunk first.☹ ---
**Author:** ![Badtz\_Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-lobster-in-a-humane-way/174873/2 "2003-05-13T04:41:24Z")
I read that there is a place you can drive a metal spike that will separate their brain from the rest of their nervous system, but I can’t tell you exactly where. I’ve also heard of some people who soak the lobster in wine for a while, and the alcohol will anaesthetize it, if not kill it. ---
**Author:** ![benrocks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@benrocks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/benrocks)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-lobster-in-a-humane-way/174873/3 "2003-05-13T04:50:11Z")
well… you can wait for it to die naturally 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Pjen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Pjen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pjen)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-lobster-in-a-humane-way/174873/4 "2003-05-13T05:05:47Z")
[http://home.att.net/~walter-donovan/lobster.htm](http://home.att.net/~walter-donovan/lobster.htm) but seriously: [http://www.maf.govt.nz/mafnet/press/archive/2000/140200lob.htm](http://www.maf.govt.nz/mafnet/press/archive/2000/140200lob.htm) chill it at 2C 36F then split in half with a knife (very sharp) or insert a broad sharp knife and sever the neck ganglion and sever in the abdomen lengthways without splitting. ---
**Author:** ![owlofcreamcheese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/97f17d/32.png) [@owlofcreamcheese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/owlofcreamcheese)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-lobster-in-a-humane-way/174873/5 "2003-05-13T05:07:26Z")
lobsters are pretty darn close to being spiders biologicly… they don’t care if you kill them or not, I wouldn’t worry much about their feelings. not any more than I would a fly or something. ---
**Author:** ![Shana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3bc359/32.png) [@Shana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shana)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-lobster-in-a-humane-way/174873/6 "2003-05-13T05:37:50Z")
My, how you all respond quickly…I love this place. **Pjen** , the first link you gave was hysterical. My favorite being “Encourage him to run with scissors.”…LOL. The second link was extremely informative. Thank you! I think I will attempt the wimpiest method - either freezing or drowning! Even better, I will try to enlist husband to do the dirty work.😉 Thanks to everyone who responded! 🙂 Shana ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-lobster-in-a-humane-way/174873/7 "2003-05-13T06:34:09Z")
**Shana** , for all of the money you are spending on the lobster, please just lob it into a large pot of boiling water. It dies instantly and the cooking time is easier to control so you don’t get overcooked lobster. Remember, if the lobster had a chance to eat you, it would. It has _zero_ compunctions about turning you into a month long undewater buffet. Remember to save all of the shells without any _coral_ (internal organs). Coarsely chop the shells and then boil them uncovered for 30 minutes in chicken broth or a white-fleshed fish stock. Reduce the liquid by half. Strain off the shells and drain through a fine wire mesh or coffee filter to eliminate grit. Use the tinted stock to make pink pasta for seafood, a sauce for stir fry prawns or a Manhattan style tomato chowder. Remember, put a small nugget of broiled filet mignon and another one of steamed Maine lobster onto the same fork. Dip in melted butter and consume. It’s so good you will forget your name. Make sure to have a defib unit handy. Enjoy. ---
**Author:** ![Nanoda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Nanoda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nanoda)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-lobster-in-a-humane-way/174873/8 "2003-05-13T07:03:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by owlofcreamcheese \* > **lobsters are pretty darn close to being spiders biologicly** lmao - I dislike all non-fish seafood anyways, but this would totally stop me if I didn’t. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Shana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3bc359/32.png) [@Shana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shana)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-lobster-in-a-humane-way/174873/9 "2003-05-13T07:37:43Z")
Oh **Zenster** …this would be a perfectly fine method if it weren’t for the fact that I witnessed my mother trying to boil a lobster alive once. Not nice. Kept trying to climb out of the pot whilst mom screamed “Oh God!!! It won’t die!!” (Then she burst into tears.) Eeek, bad childhood memory. I suppose I could throw it in and then run out of the room? I will definitely need a stiff drink beforehand. Oh yes, you are sooo right. I have eaten lobster and filet migno dipped in butter, in the same bite. Unadulterated bliss!🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Shana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3bc359/32.png) [@Shana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shana)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-lobster-in-a-humane-way/174873/10 "2003-05-13T07:39:04Z")
Uh…mignon! ---
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-lobster-in-a-humane-way/174873/11 "2003-05-13T07:56:24Z")
What I want to know is, if lobsters are now classified as animals in New Zealand, what the hell were they classified as before? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-lobster-in-a-humane-way/174873/12 "2003-05-13T08:22:21Z")
Put on one of those pot holder style gloves and clamp down the lid once you slide the little sucker under the waves. Count to twenty and it’s all over. Once you’re completely hooked on lobster, please try this recipe. It was one of the best I’ve ever tasted. [**Hommards sur les Neige**](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?postid=763614#post763614) _Lobsters with Vegetable Mirpoix_ ---
**Author:** ![green\_bladder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@green\_bladder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/green_bladder)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-lobster-in-a-humane-way/174873/13 "2003-05-13T09:21:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Shana \* > \*\*Oh **Zenster** …this would be a perfectly fine method if it weren’t for the fact that I witnessed my mother trying to boil a lobster alive once. Not nice. Kept trying to climb out of the pot whilst mom screamed “Oh God!!! It won’t die!!” (Then she burst into tears.) Been laughing for 5 minutes over this… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sock\_Munkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Sock\_Munkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sock_Munkey)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-lobster-in-a-humane-way/174873/14 "2003-05-13T12:46:31Z")
Most of that struggling was probably just nerve reflex. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-lobster-in-a-humane-way/174873/15 "2003-05-13T13:05:32Z")
> [@](#): > > Oh **Zenster** …this would be a perfectly fine method if it weren’t for the fact that I witnessed my mother trying to boil a lobster alive once. Not nice. Kept trying to climb out of the pot whilst mom screamed “Oh God!!! It won’t die!!” (Then she burst into tears.) Eeek, bad childhood memory. Did she put it in the water head-first? ---
**Author:** ![Stonebow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Stonebow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stonebow)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-lobster-in-a-humane-way/174873/16 "2003-05-13T13:10:28Z")
and once again, i am happy in my resolution to never eat anything that still has a face. _shudder_ ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-lobster-in-a-humane-way/174873/17 "2003-05-13T13:23:44Z")
Put your lobster in the freezer for about 20 minutes before you slip it in the pot. This will put it into a sort of “suspended animation”; it won’t even move when you take it out. Slip your logy lobster into the boiling water, and in 10 seconds, it’s already dead, and it didn’t feel a thing. Technique taken from beloved chef Alton Brown, from the **Good Eats** episode, [Crustacean Nation II](http://www.goodeatsfanpage.com/Season4/LobsterTranscript.htm) ---
**Author:** ![TeaElle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8491ac/32.png) [@TeaElle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TeaElle)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-lobster-in-a-humane-way/174873/18 "2003-05-13T13:40:58Z")
I’m with Stonebow. You’re **killing it to eat it** and you want to be humane about it? It’s gonna die in some nasty fashion no matter what you do, do you think it really gives a damn if it’s boiling water or a knife through its primitive nervous system or if it’s frozen or boozed up first? ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-lobster-in-a-humane-way/174873/19 "2003-05-13T13:57:02Z")
Throw it in the damn boiling water and _fergetaboutit_. :rolleyes: [sub]And we call ourselves a nation of rugged individualists…[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-lobster-in-a-humane-way/174873/20 "2003-05-13T14:06:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by tlw \* > \*\*You’re killing it to eat it and you want to be humane about it? It’s gonna die in some nasty fashion no matter what you do, do you think it really gives a damn if it’s boiling water or a knife through its primitive nervous system or if it’s frozen or boozed up first? \*\* Yes. There’s a big difference between dying painfully and dying painlessly. Why is it so hard for tlw and owlofcreamcheese to see that? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-lobster-in-a-humane-way/174873.md?page=2)