How to Get the Shell Off a Lobster
- 1). Cook your lobster. Lobster needs to be cooked for seven minutes for the first pound, then one additional minute for each pound over the first. It is nearly impossible to get the shell off of a lobster without cooking it first.
- 2). Twist the tail from the body. Use a firm, strong motion to tear the tail off. Remove the claws using a similar strong twisting motion. Set aside.
- 3). Remove the meat from the tail and claws. To remove the meat from the tail, pull off all the flippers at the end of the tail and then push the meat through the front using your fingers or a chopstick. Alternately, you can also use a pair of scissors to cut the underside of the tail open and then remove the meat through the cut. To remove the claw meat, crack the claw open with the back of a knife, rocking the knife back and forth until the claw opens up. Break open the claw shell and remove the meat.
- 4). Use a pair of scissors to cut open the small pincer and arm sections of the lobster. Remove the meat by squeezing it out.
- 5). Tear off the legs and any other parts that have meat that is harder to reach. Using a rolling pin, you can force the meat out of the shell by slowly rolling over the area.
