Dip and Drip Lobster

Dip and Drip Lobster is a Steamed Lobster of about 1 – 2 lbs in Salted Water and Hondashi. Served with JAH Garlic Sauce and other Dips.

For this recipe, we Steam the Lobster with the Tail Separate and pierced with a Chops Stick or Skewer to prevent curling of the tail.

This recipe is not for the squeamish since after killing the lobster it still moves around a bit and when piercing the tail with a skewer you will be triggering the reflexes which will cause the Tail to flap.

Preparing the Lobster

Record the lobster’s weight, so you know how long to steam for. If cooking more than one lobster at a time, make sure they are at the same weight. Bring the steamer to temp so that you can steam the lobster right after it is prepared.

Holding the Lobster down, find the cross-section at the top. Pierce through with the knifes tip and press down to cut through in between the eyes and all the way through the lobster. Keep holding the lobster down, as it can still move quite a bit afterward.

Remove the tail Section and while firmly holding the Tail down flat on a cutting board, pierce with a skewer along the Shell and out towards the back.

When you pierce the tail, it can all of a sudden curl quickly and with some force. Which can really surprise you if you’re not ready. This is due to the Ganglia Nervous system responding to the stimuli. It is best to pierce quickly, as taking your time to pierce the tail will result in a lot of movement as you trigger the muscle response.

Steam the Body along with the Claws, however, you can cut the body in half and wash out, reserving the tamale or not and serve with the dish or not. If not serving the body, place it into a Ziploc bag to freeze after it has been cooked to make lobster stock later.

As soon as the Lobster is killed and the tail skewered, steam the lobster immediately.

Steaming Lobster

Place the Lobster into the steaming pot and cover with a tight-fitting lid on max heat after the water is boiling vigorously. If it starts to foam up too much, you can drop the heat down a bit. Cook for the recommended time for the lobster size you have.

If you don’t plan on moving the lobster to a cold water bath. Then cook for about 2 minutes earlier. This allows time for the lobster to continue cooking a bit while cooling down enough to handle it after it is removed from the steamer.

The Steam time for Lobster varies from different sources. For a 1 lb lobster, it varies from 7 minutes to over half that at 15 minutes.

Some suggest until the Lobster turns bright red, but this is not always guaranteed. Others state until the antenna pulls off easily. This too is not always the case. The most reliable way, as with any food is an oven-safe thermometer inserted into the tail and steamed until an internal temp of 140 F.

I find the cook times noted in the recipe are a solid base and most reliable with which I have had good success with.

In this recipe where the Tail is skewered and separated, just take a look at the meat. It should be white all the way through.

Breaking the Lobster down

Holding the Tail, squeeze gently to crush the shell inwards first. Then pull apart to release the Tail meat.

Remove the Legs and Tail Fins to serve still in the shell.

Crack the Claws & Knuckles to remove the meat and arrange the dish as pictured below.

Dips

With Dip and Drip Lobster, there are a few Dips to choose from or serve a combination of Dips. After all, it’s all about the Lobster & Dips.

• JAH Garlic Butter Oil
• Cocktail Sauce
• Maître d’hôtel Butter or other compound butters such as Basil, Chervil and Chives with some lemon juice.
• Hondashi Broth (1/4 C water & Hondashi to taste – I use 2 tsp)

Eating the Dip and Drip Lobster

I don’t know about you, but I don’t bother rolling the meat out of the legs or Tail Fins. First of all it takes too much effort for that little bit. Second of all, sometimes you mush the meat while trying to do so. Plus it is much more fun and pleasing to squeeze the meat out with your teeth getting the juices too, especially being steamed in that Hondashi flavored Seawater.

You don’t get the same eating experience when the leg meat is either discarded or already out of the shell. For this reason, I presented this dish the way that I like it. With the Tail and Claws out of the shell, ready for the dipping Sauces and the Legs and Tail Fins to extract the meat myself along with some juices.

Just Dip the Lobster meat into the dip and let it drip. Grab a Leg and break it into sections, dip it into the dip. Squeeze the meat out between your teeth to get the meat along with juices flavored by the dip.

For your next Lobster meal, make it a Dip and Drip Lobster Night!

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Dip and Drip Lobster

Steamed 1 -2 lbs Lobster, Claw & Tail Shell removed and Legs and Tail Fins with Shell still on. Served with Garlic Butter Dip and optionally other dips.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time10 minutes mins

Servings: 1 portions

Equipment

• Wooden Skewer or Chop Stick
• Large Wok or Steamer Pot

Ingredients

• 1 – 2 lbs Lobster
• 2 C Water - More if needed
• 2 Tbl Hondashi - Or More
• 1 Tbl Sea Salt
• 1 JAH Garlic Sauce

Instructions

• Prepare your Steaming Pot and have it ready. Kill the lobster with a knife by piercing where the cross-section is on top of the lobster and then press down all the way through in between the eyes while still holding the lobster down.
• Remove the Tail and Skewer with a fast thrust down the Shell Back side and out the other end While Holding the Tail Firmly down on a cutting board. Remove the Rubber Bands.
• Steam the Lobster and start timing as soon as you place the lobster in. Don't overcrowd the Pot if making more than one, and make sure they are all the same weight. Flip them around halfway through steaming.

  1 lbs = 8–10 minutes

  1 1/4 lbs = 10–12 minutes

  1 1/2 lbs = 12–14 minutes

  1 3/4 lbs = 14–16 minutes

  2 lbs = 16–18 minutes
• Remove the Lobster 2 minutes earlier if not placing into a cold water bath. Allow the lobster to cool. Otherwise, cook for the full time and submerge into Cold water to stop the cooking.
• Remove the Tail Meat and Remove the Legs and Fins. Crack the Claws and Knuckle to remove the meat.

  Arrange the Tail, Fins, Legs, Claws and Knuckles on the Plate with a side dish of Dipping Sauce and Serve. Optionally, with a Lemon Wedge and Fresh Parsley.

Notes

The 2 Cups of water will give you about 12 or so minutes of steam time. If you need to steam for longer then double the Water, Salt, and Hondashi.

Don’t overcrowd the Wok or Pot when steaming the Lobster if steaming more than 1 and only steam lobsters that are the same weight or leave the heavier ones in the pot for their corresponding cook times.

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, Canadian

Keywords: Lobster, Lobster Dip, Steamed Lobster

Author: JAH