I’m just a cook, I aint no rocket surgeon

I am starting the beginning phases of practice runs for my competition next week. Today I started with the simple breaking down of lobster.  I covered the lobster with boiling water with a bit of white vinegar. I let it steep for 2 minutes and then ripped the tail off and let the rest of the body and claws steep for an additional 5 minutes.  While the claws were in, I took the tail meat out of the shell and let it chill in the fridge. When the claws were done, I took the meat out and also chilled them in the fridge.

Now, I have read different methods of doing lobster and personally I do them sous vide but I do not have a circulator anymore  so that is why I am going with the boiled water method.  The tail meat is curled which is ok, but it does not even bend, I am afraid it is overcooked. I will still give it a whirl at 59 degrees C for 15 minutes in a beurre monte’ and see if the meat breaks down any.

For the competition, I will show how I break down my lobster and I will use the whole carcass.

The head is cleaned and the eyeballs cut out. The inner body is washed out and the gills removed.  Each part of the body is cut off and cleaned of any sediment or coagulated protein.  This lobster had roe in it and if I get one again, I may try to dry it out as quick as possible to use as a garnish.