Cooking lobster

[baczkowski]

I've had a two meals this summer that included lobster (one baked and the other in a stew) still in their shells and the lobster has had a bitter taste. Is this a side-effect of cooking lobster too long, size of the lobster, or is it potentially from a preservative of the lobster? One was in Massachussetts and one was in Silver Spring. Different lobster worlds for sure (though Massachussets certainly isn't Maine). The baked lobster (in MA) was huge and definitely overcooked. The stew I had was not noticeably overcooked. Just curious. I did some Googling and didn't find anything.

Pax,

Brian

[bioesq]

I've had a two meals this summer that included lobster (one baked and the other in a stew) still in their shells and the lobster has had a bitter taste. Is this a side-effect of cooking lobster too long, size of the lobster, or is it potentially from a preservative of the lobster? One was in Massachussetts and one was in Silver Spring. Different lobster worlds for sure (though Massachussets certainly isn't Maine). The baked lobster (in MA) was huge and definitely overcooked. The stew I had was not noticeably overcooked. Just curious. I did some Googling and didn't find anything.

Pax,

Brian

The size shouldn't matter if it's cooked properly. Lobster meat can taste bitter if it has been thawed too long in water and absorbs chlorine, but that doesn't seem likely with your baked lobster. If the baked one was stuffed, there could have been an ingredient, like garlic, that imparted the bitterness.

[baczkowski]

The size shouldn't matter if it's cooked properly. Lobster meat can taste bitter if it has been thawed too long in water and absorbs chlorine, but that doesn't seem likely with your baked lobster. If the baked one was stuffed, there could have been an ingredient, like garlic, that imparted the bitterness.

The baked lobster was stuffed, but it was a Ritz cracker base and every part of the lobster (claws, nuckles, body, and tale) was really bitter. I don't think the garlic would get to every part. A clorine explanation sounds very possible. It didn't necessarily taste like pool clorine, but it did have a chemically bitterness to it.

Pax,

Brian

[dcs]

Restaurant Wants to Use Marijuana to Ease Lobsters’ Pain. Slow Your Roll, Maine Says.  By Mihir Zaveri, September 21, 2018, on nytimes.com.