How to Boil Lobster: A Quick 4-Part Learning Journey

Back in the 1700s, lobster was referred to as “poor man’s protein.” These days, it is a delicate and intriguing food that not many of us dare to indulge in. The lobster has come a long way as a dish. Lobsters were used as fertilizer or as fish bait by Native Americans. They were also fed to prisoners and slaves during the colonial era. But that soon changed, and because of Boston and New York’s culinary influence in the 1900s, lobster became a prime delicacy, especially during World War II.

Today, we appreciate lobster even more, as now we know more about it than ever before. It is a healthy food with low calories and packed with vitamins, such as vitamin E, B-12 and B6. It also contains healthy omega-3 fatty acids, potassium and more! Last time we wrote about how to boil crawfish. And now it’s time for lobster. So, how to boil lobster and prepare this dish? It might look scary or challenging, but once you dive deeper into our guide, you will notice that simplicity is king when trying to learn how to boil lobster and prepare it for consumption. With only 4 parts, you’ll be ready. Let’s get to it!

Part 1: Pick the Right Pot

While it sounds simple, picking the appropriate-sized pot is critical and one of the most important parts of the process when learning how to boil lobster.

It all starts by selecting a pot with a lot of space without cramming the lobster and leaving room for it to breathe. (You can cook it in batches if you don’t have a large pot.)

By picking the adequate size pot, you will ensure the heat will circulate evenly and the lobster will go underwater, thus cooking the meat correctly, because as you can see, lobsters can be huge!

Part 2: Add Water & Salt

The second part of learning how to boil lobster brings us to rather simple actions. Now that we have a pot with enough space and room for the lobster, it is time we add water and salt.

How much water? The simplest way to know that you have enough water is to check if the lobster is submerged by at least a couple of inches. This is crucial; otherwise, some parts of the lobster will be undercooked.

Before putting the lobster into the water, add around two tablespoons of salt.

Minerals:	Amounts:
Calcium	72.0 mg 7%
Iron	0.4 mg 2%
Magnesium	40.5 mg 10%
Phosphorus	216 mg 22%
Potassium	413mg 12%
Sodium	444 mg 19%
Zinc	4.5 mg 30%
Copper	2.5 mg 125%
Selenium	62.1 mcg 89%
Fluoride	---------

Part 3: Submerge & Boil!

Now, it is time for some real action! After submerging the lobster in the water, boil it for around 20 minutes without placing a lid on top.

After that, you will start noticing great changes in color, with the lobster becoming bright red.

This will indicate that we have almost completed our journey of learning how to boil lobster!

Part 4: Cover the Pot

Once you complete the boiling process and notice the lobster’s skin tone change, there is one more thing to do to ensure we complete the process correctly.

Before removing the lobster from the pot, cover it with a lid and allow it to sit there for approximately 10 minutes.

The meat will absorb the moisture in the shell and our boiling adventure will be finalized!

Vitamin	Amounts
Vitamin C	0.0 mg 0%
Vitamin D	-----
Vitamin E	2.2 mg 11%
Vitamin K	0.2 mcg 0%
Vitamin B6	0.1 mg 5%
Vitamin B12	1.4 mcg 23%

How Long to Boil Lobster?

Before we deliver a summary and additional tips and information, let’s see how long it will take to boil the lobster in total:

• Part 2 – Adding large amounts of water and salt will take around 5 minutes.
• Part 3 – Boiling the lobster will take 20 minutes.
• Part 4 – Absorbing the moisture will take 10 minutes.

Total Cooking Time: 35 minutes

The times might differ depending on your heat source, lobster size, initial water temperature, and quantity, but these numbers are a strong average that you can plan your time around.