Lobster !

I found this lobster one morning while I was nosing around the rocks. There was plenty of kelp in the area and sandy patches between the rocks. Not sure how I spotted this one, I somehow caught a glimpse of its antenna – that got my attention. Then it took several dives and a bit of chasing around before I grabbed it. Didn’t realise how fast these babies can move – backwards !

That was the first lobster I’ve caught and was a bit nervous about how it was going to react and what it might do to me with those claws! I found that so long as you were decisive with your grab, you could get a good hold on it. After a bit of thrashing around, it gave up and calmed down.

Looking back, I wish I’d taken better notice of the surroundings, to see if there were any tell-tale signs around its hidey hole that would come in handy next time I go looking. Also, to go back and have a look for any others that might have been close by. Thing was we already had a Barbie planned for that evening, so it was meant to be, and I headed back to shore pretty pleased with myself!

I don’t have a depth gauge or diving computer, so would guess the depth to be around 5-10 metres. Took about 4 fin kicks to get down and am guessing I move at least a body length with each kick. I’m a little over 6 feet tall, so that’s roughly 2 metres per fin kick.

So, unfortunately for the lobster, it came to join us for the barbeque!

I wanted to make sure I cooked the lobster humanely so had a quick read around.

A bit about the lobster: Apparently it doesn’t have a brain as we understand it. It has a chain of nerve centres length-ways down its body and tail. In order to dispatch a lobster, you (if you’re good with a knife) you can cut from the head to the end of the tail, directly down the middle to destroy the central nervous system. Alternatively, at low temperatures, the central nervous system becomes sluggish and consciousness is lost. The RSPCA therefore suggest placing the lobster in the freezer for several hours before placing directly into boiling hot water for cooking.

This is how we cooked it.

- Big saucepan, half filled with water and plenty of salt, brought to a decent boil.

- Lobster out of the freezer and straight into the water – brought back to the boil.

- When the water was back boiling again, started timing for 20 mins. The lobster weighed just over 2lbs – read that you should use 15 mins for lobster up to 1 1/2lb, then an additional 5 mins per pound.

- When time's up, pour everything into the sink and rinse off with water.

- Allow the lobster to cool.

There’s a few ways to get at the meat, but we twisted off the claws, then twisted the carapace to remove the tail. If you turn the tail over, and using scissors, cut all the way down the length of the underside at each edge. The tail meat can then be removed in one piece.

Inside the claws, if you run a sharp knife against what I’ll describe as cartilage (the bit that the muscle is bound to), the whole piece of claw meat will drop out.

There's more meat in the carapace, its fiddley to get at but worth it !

Probably don't have to tell you how tasty lobster is ! - This one was beaut with the barbecued mussels and a cold New Zealand white wine!