French chefs plunge them into boiling water; English ones, in an attempt to appear more humane, drive kitchen knives through their skulls before doing
same thing.No wonder miserable creatures go red. They’re mad as hell. What a way to treat king of crustaceans.
Let’s make a pact. From now on let’s treat lobster with respect (and humanity) it deserves. Here’s how:
Use a pan deep enough to hold 6 liters of salted water to which you have added some shredded onion, a garlic clove or two and a bay leaf. Purists who live by sea also like to add a pint of seawater. People like me, who’ve seen what gets washed up as a result of coastal run-off, don’t.
Put a trivet or round roasting rack in bottom of pan, on which you will place lobster. You do this so that it is not touching bottom of pan and will not be burnt as metal heats up.
Does this improve flavor? No, it’s purely for comfort of lobster.
So, this is what you have – a pan of cold brine, seasoned, in which a lobster sits on a trivet as happy as a sand boy. How do I know this? Because lobsters have two states of being – they’re either happy or they’re dead.
Now, using a gentle heat, gradually raise temperature of water to around 90°F, at which point lobster will be fast asleep and sweetly dreaming. It will never wake up.
