Warm Water vs. Cold Water Lobster
By
Ashley Osier
MA, HHE, CPS, CSMT, CAMT, CAYT, CWHP
~ Holistic Wellness for Mind, Body, and Spirit ~
I was terribly disappointed and a bit embarrassed when I prepared a meal for my in-laws over the holiday. I had no idea that there were different kinds of lobster and that they would taste differently regardless of how you cook them or prepare them. When I purchased them, it was from a completely different store and location and no one said anything to me about them being different from the usual lobsters sold. I wanted to give you the scoop so you don't make the same costly mistake.
Cold water lobsters are what we usually get from restaurants and from most stores. These lobsters are from Maine and other areas in the North Atlantic as well as places like Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. They turn red when cooked. The warm water lobsters are usually found in the South Pacific, California, Florida, Caribbean, the Mediterranean. This will give a little more information about the cold and warm water lobsters. This site has more photos of a variety of lobster tails from different part, which I found pretty interesting. This site gives information on a variety of fish and the specific link I provide is about the pros and cons of warm water lobster vs. cold water lobster, and in particular, when it is frozen. You want to make sure to thaw your frozen lobster out prior to cooking. Leave yourself ample time. I have a couple of options explained below.
Here are some of my photos
Cold Water Warm Water
You can see the difference in the color of the lobster after they have been cooked. I thought the coloring of the warm water lobster was super cool, but did not think to ask if the taste would be different. Now I understand where the restaurant "Red Lobster" gets its name from! Their lobsters must all be from cold water places, such as Maine.
Here are a couple more photos of the warm water lobster tail shell itself. Pretty cool coloring, right?
So what is the difference? Well, I am surprised at how easy and quick it is to cook a tasty lobster. In just about 9 minutes, given you have a 3-5 ounce tail, you have a gorgeous lobster tail ready to eat. If you mix with rice and veggies, you really don't need to dip it in butter. You can get the recipe from my previous blog post here. I have additionally ways to cook below. But, watch out, if you get a warm water lobster! You and your guests will NOT be pleasantly surprised. It is soft and almost mushy in texture, regardless of how long you cook it. I actually put it back into the oven a couple of times and it did not change the texture of the lobster. When I was confused about what could possibly have gone wrong, I looked it up online and there it was in black and white with photos. You can clearly see the difference between the two lobsters. Now there are some people who say they prefer the softer texture of the warm water lobster. But based upon the articles I have read, the response from my guests, and the fact that most restaurants provide cold water lobsters, I would say that margin is quite small.
Thawing Out Frozen Tails
Slow Thaw: put in refrigerator the night prior to cooking.
Make sure to keep the lobster tails in their provided wrapping.
Make sure to keep the lobster tails in their provided wrapping.
Quick Thaw: 30-60 minutes prior to cooking, place in a sealed bag and submerge in bowl of water. Change the water once. (I had to put a pan over the bowl as the lobster in the sealed bag rose to the top and didn't really fully submerge. It worked very well within 45 minutes)
Make sure to check out all the links I provided. You can read about the health benefits of lobster from my previous post here. I changed up the way I prep my lobster tail from the original as follows.
Originally
1. Cut the shell down the middle with kitchen shears
2. Pulled the meat out and set on top of the shell
3. Poured melted butter on top
4. Gently cut a line down the middle of the tail
5. Drizzled a little butter down the new cut
6. Added paprika and salt
7. Put in oven after oven was pre-heating during my prep (pre-heat is suggested at 500, but not for all recipes)
Currently
1. Same (I have been pre-heating at 425)
2. Same
3. Liberally wash meat with olive oil (top and bottom)
4. N/A
5. N/A
6. Paprika but no salt
7. Same for 8 minutes
8. After 8 minutes, apply a pad of butter to the top of each piece and broil on high for 1 minute.
I am adding an extra link here that shows another way to cook lobster tails quick and easy. They use butter instead of olive oil (I prefer olive oil) and keep the meat inside the shell instead of taking it out and laying the meat on top of the shell. I thought it would be an interesting alternative to try.
Let me know any experiences you have had with cooking lobster tails!
~ Stay healthy and blessed ~
Ashley
Ashley Osier is a holistic health educator and therapist, stress management therapist, corrective posture and exercise specialist, an acupressure and massage therapist, stretching, massage, acupressure, and self-acupressure instructor and creator of the Point Release™ Technique and StretchFit™ Method. She specializes in working with stress management, injury prevention and pain relief, therapeutic stretching for individuals and couples, and posture awareness. She also offers coaching in nutrition and support for women going through divorce. Appointments can be scheduled by contacting her at ewsomatherapy@gmail.com.
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