Humanely Dispatching Lobsters

October 22, 2009

Question: When boiling a lobster, or otherwise prepping it for cooking, is there a humane way to kill the critter without inflicting unnecessary pain on the live lobster? I’ve tried inserting a knife on the triangle above the eyes where I expect the brain is, but am not sure this really dispatches it as there’s still lots of movement afterward. Thanks for any help! (John S.)

Answer: Many people refrigerate lobsters for a while to slow them down before putting them in boiling water, according to Senior Invertebrate Specialist Kristine Barsky. It sounds like you are trying to pith the lobster, or destroy its brain, as is sometimes done with frogs in a classroom situation. Barsky says she hasn’t heard of using that method on lobsters, and she thinks the quickest way to dispatch a lobster is probably still the traditional boiling water method.