Raquel Pelzel, my ever inspired and inspiring co-writer and confidant, wrote a wonderful piece in this weekend issue of the Wall Street Journal.
Her writing encourages one to dispel their fears around killing lobsters and shares the arguments around the different methods employed towards that end.
It helps that she uses Eric Ripert as her teacher, as she learns how to wield a knife to kill the lobster before cooking it and serving it up to wondrous results. How I wish I was Raquel and getting a lesson from Eric Ripert. At once charming and incredibly talented, he could convince most people to try most anything.
Jasper White, another formidable chef, shares his steaming technique with her, as they prepare Lobster Rolls. Even I, mostly a vegetarian, can never say no to a bite of a well made, simple Lobster Roll. Perfect for the summer, they are just what this weather calls for.
Credit for photo above goes to Raquel Pelzel and Matt Grady.
How to Kill a Lobster
A top seafood chef's answer to the delicate -- and controversial -- problem of dispatching dinner
By RAQUEL PELZEL
SPECIAL TO THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
July 7, 2007; Page P1
NEW YORK -- I am standing next to Eric Ripert, chef of the famous seafood restaurant Le Bernardin here, confronting a common culinary fear: We are about to kill a lobster. Mr. Ripert, who uses a knife to dispatch lobsters, raises his weapon. I mimic him. This is a moment I -- like many home cooks -- have been avoiding all my life.
One of the biggest debates in lobster cookery is the best method to take the creature's life: boiling, steaming, or killing the lobster with a knife. Most pro chefs eschew boiling, which they say can produce rubbery, waterlogged meat. On the other methods, there are two camps. Some like to steam them, including Jasper White of the Massachusetts-based Summer Shack restaurant chain. Mr. Ripert is among those who prefer the knife kill, believing it to be quicker and more compassionate.
It's also a challenge if you haven't done it before. You can avoid the chore by buying cooked and chilled lobster meat and even frozen lobster tails, but the meat is less fresh, the texture is compromised and it's more expensive. The best way to cook lobster at home is to kill it yourself. Lobsters are plentiful right now, and there are few dishes as summery as a lobster roll or, for a more refined meal, poached lobster with a delicate vinaigrette.
But these are turbulent times for lobster lovers. The issue of cruelty to food animals has gained traction. The city of Chicago, for instance, has banned foie gras. Lobsters have been targeted, too, with some stores suspending sales; in 2004, Italy's Emilia-Romagna region made it illegal to boil lobsters alive.
"The only place city folks encounter killing their food is with lobsters. That's what makes it such a hot-button issue," says Jelle Atema, a lobster expert and professor of biology at Boston University.
[The knife method art]
Does it make a difference to the lobster? Diana Cowen, a senior scientist at the Lobster Conservancy in Maine, says that people should cook lobsters in whatever way they like best to eat them, even if that means a longer suffering period (Ms. Cowen chooses to steam her lobsters). Lobsters have clusters of nerves that independently control every segment of their bodies. Though the lobster's brain is the master control operator, the body parts can act independently. She theorizes that this may mean that they register pain only in isolated parts of their bodies, minimizing their suffering. In addition, lobsters can autotomize, which is the ability to break off a claw or leg if the appendage is damaged.
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