It’s not quite cold in New York, but we feel the Fall season approaching.

Myself and the boys are gearing up to say goodbye to the long, hot days. I know for my children, they’ll be mourning the end of their extended bedtimes.

Now as I say goodbye to Summer, I’m celebrating with a good old lobster fest. Well, it’s really just a seafood boil with a whole lobster.

The Lobster Live

I’ve never prepared a live lobster by myself before. I’ve always been hesitant to even try any whole lobster recipes because I couldn’t see myself taking Mr. Lobster’s life.

There’s also the intimidation factor. I don’t know about you, but for me, it’s scary to handle a lobster.

Lastly, there’s the cost factor. Lobster prices intimidated me. It always seemed as if lobster was super expensive and out of my reach. So I’ve always avoided purchasing lobster.

Eventually, I get over my fears after purchasing a frozen lobster tail.

The frozen lobster tail was absolutely terrible. Small. No meat. A waste of time eat. The meager lobster tail cost of under $10 brings me to the realization that you get what you pay for.

I make the decision right then and there to get over my fear and purchase a whole lobster. Let’s go!

How to Pick Fresh Lobster

My local Shoprite has an amazing seafood department with a lobster tank, so I grab my brave little 10 year old son Timmy to pick a couple of lobsters for our “Goodbye to Summer” seafood boil.

Here are some tips I used to pick my lobster:

Lobster Picking Tips:
Pick a lively, feisty lobster; avoid any listless lobsters.
Look for lobster with long antennae.
Smell your lobster & pass on any with a sharp odor.
Select hard shell lobster for more meat and texture.
Buy lobster in season. I live in New York, so lobster is in season between June & December.

I purchase two lobsters. One weighs two pounds, the other, a pound and a half. I paid $55 for the two lobsters.

How to Boil a Live Lobster

Boiling a lobster isn’t as intimidating as it looks. Boiling my own lobster opens up a world of possibilities.

Being able to boil my own live lobster means that I can now make so many lobster dishes with fresh lobster meat. From lobster mac and cheese, lobster newburg, lobster salad and lobster rolls, this opens up a whole new path of enjoying lobster!

Don’t forget your huge pot!  A 4- to 5-gallon pot can handle 6 to 8 pounds of lobster. You can easily purchase this one from Amazon for roughly $30.

Lobster Seafood Boil

Check out the hilarious of me cooking the lobster with my children! My oldest son did the tough part, he put the live lobster into the pot.