Reheating pre-cooked whole Lobsters?

I live in Norway and will serve 12 lobsters for lunch tomorrow to a group. At the market, they only have pre-cooked whole lobsters. How do I reheat the lobsters without making them chewy? I want to serve them in their shells, whole and warm (for novelty's sake, and prep time sake).

Posted by: LDeuben
June 25, 2015

45918 views
10 Comments

10 Comments

Mr-j H. April 10, 2019

Was also looking for answer

inpatskitchen June 25, 2015

I love the idea of serving them cold or at room temperature with melted butter. You could also offer a mayonnaise like this one from the NY Times:
http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/3229-cold-lobster-with-garlic-and-basil-mayonnaise

LDeuben June 25, 2015

Done and done! That is exactly what I am going to do (including the mayo recipe). Thanks for all of your feedback- it was super helpful, indeed. I am pretty sure I will be using this tool again.

paseo June 25, 2015

I have done this a couple of times - I live on the Maine coast where leftover whole lobster does happen now and then. inpatskitchen is so right - they are quite good served cold with a nice mayonnaise. Let us know how it goes, but I'll bet you will be pleased.

pierino June 25, 2015

It Is Best To THASW IN The refrigerator. Save the shells for seafood stock.

LDeuben June 25, 2015

There is nothing to thaw. They aren't frozen, they are just pre-cooked. Maybe, I will just serve them cold & whole in their shells instead of trying to reheat them?

alexanderg June 25, 2015

Claws and tails have dramatically different cook times. The meat will also go tough very easily. If you can get them slightly under cooked would be the only way to reheat and them not be chewy. You could maybe dice up the lobster and serve them in lobster roll format. Having the meet cut up might help cut down on the chewy factor and still look very exciting for guests.

LDeuben June 25, 2015

Thanks and I agree with your response but I want to keep them in their shell and have people crack and clean themselves! Just garlic butter and lobster- no roll! Maybe I will just serve them cold instead of attempting to reheat them- I definitely don't trust that the market could undercooked them.

inpatskitchen June 25, 2015

Here's a previous Hotline thread that may help:
https://food52.com/hotline/18574-best-way-to-reheat-lobster

LDeuben June 25, 2015

Thanks I read that one already but I have read elsewhere that throwing them back in boiling water makes the meat chewy.

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