18 lobsters hanging on the wall..

[Greg_Mitrakas]

Lucky to live in Massachusetts this time of year. Great prices all over the place.

Put me squarely in the camp for preferring hard shells; and I prefer claw meat to tail meat. I’m probably in the minority in both these positions. Last big feed we had, I asked and 8 out of 10 prefer the tails.

[Larry_Link]

Lucky to live in Massachusetts this time of year. Great prices all over the place.

Put me squarely in the camp for preferring hard shells; and I prefer claw meat to tail meat. I’m probably in the minority in both these positions. Last big feed we had, I asked and 8 out of 10 prefer the tails.

I’m with you, the claws are more tender and the meat to me is more complex tasting.

[Brad_Kane]

Lucky to live in Massachusetts this time of year. Great prices all over the place.

Put me squarely in the camp for preferring hard shells; and I prefer claw meat to tail meat. I’m probably in the minority in both these positions. Last big feed we had, I asked and 8 out of 10 prefer the tails.

Completely agree, Greg. I’ll take claws over tails any day of the week. Also, knuckles and I prefer females for the roe.

[Ken_V]

…I’ll take claws over tails any day of the week. Also, knuckles and I prefer females for the roe.

You sexy beast!

[DougS]

Lucky to live in Massachusetts this time of year. Great prices all over the place.

Put me squarely in the camp for preferring hard shells; and I prefer claw meat to tail meat. I’m probably in the minority in both these positions. Last big feed we had, I asked and 8 out of 10 prefer the tails.

I’ve eaten a lot of lobster with a lot of different people, and this is literally the first time I’ve heard of anyone preferring tails over claws.

I have a strong preference for soft shells.

[Dan_Kravitz]

to all: It’s been decades since I did the measurement, but I once weighed meat from 3 one-pound soft shells and 3 one-pound hard shells. From memory, Brad Kane is exactly right.

I also prefer claw meat to tail meat, with one exception: IMO the best meat in the lobster is the tail strap. Within the claws, I prefer the joint meat to the front claw.

Dan Kravitz

[Stuart_BeauneHead_Niemtzow]

For those interested, Stuart’s description is accurate but incomplete. When buying lobsters, please note that:
soft shells have less meat, sweeter meat, tenderer meat
hard shells have more meat, brinier meat, tougher meat

Now that you posted this, I did notice this, but wasn’t aware of this “rule”(?). For me, soft shells > hard ones.

Thanks, all, for the lobster knowledge here, especially on the local ones (live, spiny S African ones not easy to find in my NYC market). Helpful with my future buying.

Hard shells cost more because of their yield, as pointed out, and because they are durable enough to transport.

There is no real consensus in Maine which is preferable, though almost everyone I encounter prefer the softshells, for cost and taste and texture. (Actually find the softshells “brinier” as they are marinated in sea water until cooked and opened.

Were they equally priced, I think I’d still prefer softshells when in Maine.

An old lobsterman up here claims " once you’ve gone soft, you don’t come back." Still not sure what he’s talking about. His name is Virgil.

[Claus_Jeppesen]

…I’ll take claws over tails any day of the week. Also, knuckles and I prefer females for the roe.

You sexy beast!

The 3rd part of the lobster (when the tail s removed) is maybe the most delicate.