How to Crack a Whole Cooked Lobster

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How to crack a whole cooked lobster

Follow Julian’s hard-shell lobster demonstration with real photos from the video.

With Julian Klenda

Crack it.
Pick it. Enjoy it.

Pull up a chair with Julian. His hard-shell lobster demonstration takes you from the first knuckle to a beautiful, whole piece of tail meat.

GlovesCutting boardMetal ice cream scoopParing knifeShell bowl

Ready to start? Use a fully cooked lobster that’s cool enough to handle. Work slowly around sharp shell edges.

Watch with Julian

How to crack a hard-shell lobster

Julian Klenda · Maine Lobster Now16:21 · Watch on YouTube ↗
Follow along

One lobster. Ten clear steps.

Real close-ups from Julian’s video. Tap any photo to watch that moment.

  1. Julian holds the cooked lobster body and bends a claw assembly downward to separate it.

    Remove the claw assemblies

    Hold the body and bend each claw-and-knuckle assembly downward at its attachment. Set the body aside.

    Watch this moment 2:16 ↗
  2. Julian bends the knuckle joint backward while holding the large cooked claw.

    Separate the knuckles

    Hold the claw firmly. Bend the knuckles backward against the top of the claw, then pull the joint apart.

    Watch this moment 2:45 ↗
  3. Julian positions a metal ice cream scoop beside a small knuckle section to show where to tap.

    Lightly tap the knuckle shell

    Support the knuckle on the board. Use the flat metal scoop to make a small crack, with just enough force to open the shell.

    Watch this moment 4:48 ↗
  4. Julian uses the tip of a paring knife to gently lift meat from an opened knuckle shell.

    Pick out the knuckle meat

    Peel away the cracked shell and gently lift out the meat. Work through the little joints, then repeat on the other knuckles.

    Watch this moment 5:05 ↗
  5. Julian pulls the movable small pincer away from the claw, exposing the pale cartilage.

    Remove the small claw “thumb”

    Take the bands off the cooked claws. Pull the movable small pincer downward and away, then remove the firm cartilage and save its meat.

    Watch this moment 7:45 ↗
  6. Julian displays a whole piece of claw meat in his gloved palm after removing the shell and cartilage.

    Crack, peel and lift the claw meat

    Lightly tap the broad claw shell, peel away the cracked pieces and lift out the meat. Check for any remaining cartilage. Repeat with the second claw.

    See the whole claw result 10:50 ↗
  7. Julian bends the cooked tail downward and away from the body at the connecting joint.

    Bend the tail away from the body

    Hold the body and bend the tail downward, following its natural curve. Gently pull it free to keep the firm tail meat intact.

    Watch this moment 11:59 ↗
  8. Julian applies gentle pressure around the cooked tail shell until it cracks open.

    Gently crack the tail shell

    Press the cooked tail shell just until you feel it crack. Work along it in small sections, using gentle pressure to protect the meat.

    Watch this moment 13:07 ↗
  9. Julian lifts the tail meat while peeling the opened shell away with his other hand.

    Peel away the tail shell

    Support the meat with your thumb and peel the shell back. Ease the remaining shell away, keeping the little side flippers attached.

    Watch this moment 13:23 ↗
  10. Julian opens a shallow cut along the tail meat and removes the intestinal tract with his gloved fingers.

    Clean the tail and enjoy

    Lightly score the top of the meat lengthwise. Open the shallow cut, remove the intestinal tract and check for shell fragments. Bring on the butter.

    Watch this moment 14:36 ↗
Eat the meat. Skip the tomalley. Maine DMR advises against eating the green digestive organ inside the body. Keep it separate from picked meat, sauces and stock.

Video and step photographs: Maine Lobster Now · Hosted by Julian Klenda