Yes, You Really Can Microwave a Live Lobster

Next time you bring home a live lobster with the intention of cooking it up for dinner, leave the pots and pans alone and consider putting it in the microwave.

A caller into my radio show mentioned this morning how when she worked in a New Bedford fish house years ago, one of her coworkers taught her that you can actually microwave a live lobster, and that it’s a perfectly fine way to cook one up. She said it came out just as succulent as if it were boiled or steamed.

Now, I’ve tried microwaving all kinds of things to various degrees of success. It turns out corn on the cob and baked potatoes work out totally fine; other things like eggs and hot dogs, not so much. A live lobster, though, just sounded like maybe she was pulling my leg.

READ MORE: The Massachusetts Activist Who Helped Give Birth to the Lobster Roll

Although, I did recently have a radio guest inform me that you can eat corn on the cob raw, and that turned out to be a game-changer.

Can You Really Microwave Lobster?

I took to the internet to do a little research and as it turns out, the microwave is certainly a viable way to cook a lobster, and for some, the preferred method.

Step-by-Step Microwave Method

Here’s how it works: you take the lobster, place it in a microwave-safe plastic bag, put a scoop of seawater in the bag, and then zap it on full power until it reaches an internal temperature of 135 to 140 degrees. According to LobsterAnywhere.com, that means about six minutes for a one-pound lobster, up to 10 minutes for a two-pounder. You have to cook them one at a time, though, for it to work, and the lobster essentially just steams inside the bag.

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Why Chefs Approve the Microwave Trick

Apparently, this method is very popular with fishermen out on their boats who want to quickly cook up some of their catch for lunch or dinner. LobsterAnywhere.com also said this was a method recommended by none other than famous chef Julia Child. Other chefs reportedly prefer it as well.

Is Microwaving a Lobster Humane?

Now, you might be thinking, how humane is it to microwave a live lobster? Well apparently it is just as humane (or inhumane, depending on how you look at it) as any other method of cooking one. LobsterAnywhere.com has a complete guide on less cruel ways to kill a lobster right before you cook it, if you’d rather do it that way.

Debunking Lobster Myths

Either way, you probably don’t have much to worry about. The Lobster Institute says that lobsters don’t have complex brains or nervous systems, so they probably don’t experience “pain” as we know it.

Oh, and that sound you hear when the lobster is being microwaved, steamed, or when you drop it in the pot of boiling water? That’s probably just air escaping from its shell. Lobsters don’t have vocal cords, either.

Just try not to think about that scene from Gremlins when you’re microwaving your lobster and you’ll be fine.