# How to kill a lobster? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 8, 2004, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-kill-a-lobster/273571 "2004-11-08T02:17:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Stephen\_Howard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@Stephen\_Howard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephen_Howard)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-kill-a-lobster/273571/1 "2004-11-08T02:17:25Z")
So, what’s the most humane way to kill a lobster / crayfish / crab etc? I watched an Iron Chef episode where they tied up some crabs and put them in a dry wok to cook in their own juices - I thought that there must be a ‘nicer’ way to kill the poor creatures. Or am I just anthropomorphising? ---
**Author:** ![Tentacle\_Monster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba9def/32.png) [@Tentacle\_Monster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tentacle_Monster)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-kill-a-lobster/273571/2 "2004-11-08T03:11:48Z")
First, realize that you’re dealing with a critter that’s about as intelligent as a cockroach. That being said, I remember an episode of _Good Eats_ where Alton Brown shows two ways to put down a bug. 1. Stab it in the head with a butcher’s knife (look for the joint in the exoskeleton) 2. Pop it in the freezer for a few minutes. 3. Put it in ---
**Author:** ![Monkey\_Lore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Monkey\_Lore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monkey_Lore)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-kill-a-lobster/273571/3 "2004-11-08T03:28:43Z")
As **Tentacle Monster** mentioned, taking a nap in the freezer seems to be the way to go. Google leads to a [page](http://lobsterpotdirect.com/aboutlobsters.html) that proports: > [@](#): > > What is the most humane way to cook a lobster? > … > They found that putting them in the fridge before cooking to numb them up, (as happens naturally in winter), resulted in the lowest number of tail twitches. > … And to a Food Network recipe, [Boiled Lobsters](http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_25147,00.html), were a note a the bottom reads: > [@](#): > > Some experts recommend numbing the lobsters first by placing them in the freezer for about 10 minutes before cooking. You may also want to read a previous thread, titled: [do shrimps and lobsters feel pain when boiled?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=266379) ---
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-kill-a-lobster/273571/4 "2004-11-08T04:09:07Z")
It seems if you have any qualms about cooking a live lobster, you might want to think about just buying frozen. Not quite as good, granted, but it gives you an out of any guilt you have. And it still tasted pretty damn good. ---
**Author:** ![Stephen\_Howard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@Stephen\_Howard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephen_Howard)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-kill-a-lobster/273571/5 "2004-11-08T04:20:27Z")
You may also want to read a previous thread, titled: [do shrimps and lobsters feel pain when boiled?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=266379) [/QUOTE] Typical, I searched for ‘lobster’ on the straightdope front page but only got colitas - which I’m sure the antibiotics will soon clear up. ---
**Author:** ![Stephen\_Howard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@Stephen\_Howard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephen_Howard)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-kill-a-lobster/273571/6 "2004-11-08T04:21:40Z")
…Reminder to self - click on ‘Preview Post’ before sending… ---
**Author:** ![Berkut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a88e57/32.png) [@Berkut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Berkut)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-kill-a-lobster/273571/7 "2004-11-08T04:43:30Z")
> [@Stephen Howard](#): > > Typical, I searched for ‘lobster’ on the straightdope front page but only got colitas - which I’m sure the antibiotics will soon clear up. Just FYI, the search field on the front page doesn’t search the message board, only the columns. That’s why it didn’t show up. ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-kill-a-lobster/273571/8 "2004-11-08T06:14:11Z")
If lobsters could scream, would we be so cavalier about thowing them in a pot of boiling water? We might, if they screamed all the time, for no good reason. A paraphrase of a ‘Deep Thought’ by Jack Handey (substitute ‘tree’ and ‘cutting them down’)