Boiling lobster as per mainecook61's directions is my favorite way to cook lobster; I put the lobsters in the freezer for 15-20 minutes to numb them. You can also grill them whole, but you need to kill them first. Put the freezer-numbed lobster on its back, take a sharp heavy chef's knife and, with the sharp end of the blade pointing toward the head, stab the lobster between the first of little legs and then quickly cut down and through the head. Rub them with some olive oil, set them on the medium-high grill, bottom side facing the coals, and cook for 12-15 minutes.

Sorry for the double answer; the site told me it had not gone through the first time.

Vegetarians, avert your eyes. Now. A live lobster? Broiling? That would be unusual. In Maine, we generally boil or steam them. The first way is easiest. Time depends on whether they are hard shell or soft shell. The former is packed full of meat, requires considerable cracking and wrestling to get at it, costs more, and ships well. The latter, preferred by lazy Mainers like me, has not quite filled out the shell, requires no additional hardware, is cheaper, doesn't ship, and is best eaten drippily outdoors with sweet corn in season. A 1 1/2 pound hard shell should spend 11-12 minutes in the boiling water. But oh dear, this is SUCH a touchy subject. (Read David Foster Wallace's essay "Consider the Lobster" to see why.) As you will discover, there are many ways to the same end.

Vegetarians, avert your eyes. Now. Is it a live lobster? Broiling? (That would be a unusual for a live lobster.) In Maine, we plunge them headfirst into boiling salted water (my preferred method) or steam them. The length of time depends on whether they are hard shell or soft shell. The former is packed full of meat, needs lots of cracking to eat, costs more, ships well, and takes a bit longer to cook. The latter, preferred by lazy Mainers like me, has not quite filled out the shell, needs little hardware to assist in the eating, is cheaper, cooks more quickly, and is best eaten drippily out of doors with the season's sweet corn. Simplest is best here. But oh dear. This is SUCH a touchy subject. (Read David Foster Wallace's essay "Consider the Lobster" to see why.) You can read of all sorts of other methods, which I won't bore you with, but a 1 1/2 pound hard shell takes 11-12 minutes in the pot of boiling water.

You can steam lobster, I do it all the time with lobster tails, which only take about 5 minutes to cook.