The Best Way To Store Lobster Meat To Keep It Nice And Fresh

Lobster is a versatile seafood that works perfectly as a fancy dinner, such as in a lobster tail, as a lunch, such as in a lobster roll, or as an appetizer, such as in lobster sliders. When cooked properly, the meat is tender, sweet, and needs only a hint of butter or mayonnaise to enhance it. If you're planning to use lobster in a homemade dish, you can easily purchase it from your local fish market (or even the fish section of your grocery store). They can usually steam it for you on the spot.

When you get home, it's important to store the lobster well if you're not using it right away. There are two options: you can remove the cooked meat from the shell and store it, or place the whole cooked lobster in your refrigerator for when you're ready to use it. With both types of lobster — meat or whole — the seafood will last approximately three to four days. In both cases, using a fully sealed container for storage is a must.

When you get home, don't just place the cooked lobster on a dish and pop it in the refrigerator. For the best quality, store it in something that will keep the air out, such as a plastic container. This will help keep it fresh for longer. If possible, remove the meat from the lobster shell before refrigerating it. That three-to-four-day timeline starts right when the lobster is cooked. You can also consume meat from dead, whole lobsters, but only if they died fewer than 24 hours prior to consumption and were kept at refrigerator temperature.

To store live lobsters, keep the lobsters damp using either a thin layer of ice on the bottom of a container (do not surround the lobsters in ice), by putting a damp cloth over them, or by covering them in some fresh seaweed — not the dried stuff in the grocery store. Store the live lobsters in a container in the back of your refrigerator until you're ready to cook them, but don't keep them for more than two days. 

You should not freeze a live lobster, as toxins may develop, explains Freshies Lobster Co. You need to kill them first and remove the meat. 

The best way to do this is to boil the lobsters, but the time will vary depending on the lobsters' weight and size. To boil the lobsters humanely, pop them in the freezer for up to 20 minutes to make them fall asleep, then boil them. Small, one-pound lobsters will be ready in less than 10 minutes, while larger two-pound or even three-pound lobsters will take up to 20 minutes or more. The best way to tell if a lobster is cooked is when its shell is bright red. You can also remove the lobster and check its meat with a thermometer — it should reach 165 degrees Fahrenheit. From there, you can remove the meat and freeze it.

To freeze cooked lobster meat, you'll still need an air-free container, but you should add an extra layer of protection by wrapping the lobster in something like aluminum foil or heavy-duty plastic wrap. This will further help prevent it from getting any freezer burn. It should last in the freezer for up to six months.