Cape Cod etiquette requires you to be formally introduced to your dinner while it’s still alive, and I’m not sure exactly how I feel about this. It certainly didn’t make me think, ‘Oh no, I can’t possibly eat Larry the Lobster now that we know each other socially!’ Which was just as well, because Larry would have died for nothing if I’d turned squeamish while he was in the kitchen.
But I didn’t feel that the introduction added anything to the experience. When I lived in Malaysia we would often eat seafood that was pulled fresh from tanks and taken straight into the kitchen, but we were never invited to say ‘hello’ first, so it was a much more impersonal experience. In such a hot country, I think it was mainly to prove that everything was very fresh; there were no social obligations involved.
But my main reaction to Larry’s disappearance into the kitchen and then his reappearance on a plate fifteen minutes later, was to marvel at the extraordinary colour change that had taken place in such a short space of time. He really didn’t look like the same lobster.
Coastal New England is famous for lobsters, and we were shown a video during our trip which detailed exactly how to eat one from head to tail, leaving no morsel of deliciousness behind. And so I was determined to try the technique out for myself.
You need nutcrackers, a lobster fork, a large bib and lots of napkins. Each part of the crustacean needs to be cracked open with the nutcrackers and then the meat is extracted – with the pick if it’s in a difficult to reach nook or cranny – and dipped in melted butter. After a while I had lobster and butter running up both arms to my elbows, but it was totally worth it! And I did a very good job of following the video instructions to the letter … Larry would have been proud of me.