Lobster, Spiny

Common Name:

Spiny lobster, red spiny lobster, warmwater lobster, coldwater lobster

Product Information:

Coldwater tails tend to be more tender and succulent than warmwater, and they shrink less during cooking. Tail meat is firm, mild and sweet. Raw tail meat is nearly translucent, with a pink, cream or whitish-gray tint, depending on the animal’s diet. Cooked tail meat should be firm and snowy white with red tinges but no dark spots. Watch for overglazing. It’s limited mainly to warmwater tails, as coldwater producers usually sell their product dry, wrapped with plastic wrap. Pacific Ocean spiny lobsters sport greenish/orange shells; those from the Atlantic are reddish brown. The shell is rougher on a coldwater lobster.

Cooking Tips:

Broil tails and serve with melted butter and lemon wedges, or combine with a steak for Surf and Turf. Baked is good, too, but add some water or wine to the pan to prevent drying. If you want to remove the meat from the tails, make sure you split them ahead of time. Use a pair of scissors to cut lengthwise along the underside of the shell; otherwise the meat will be very difficult to remove.

Cooking Methods: