Published May 1, 1997.
In search of the best lobster recipe, we steaming and roasting and found that both methods work well. The results of this test made us suspect that the secret to tender lobster was not so much in the preparation and cooking as in the selection of the creature itself. After some research into the life cycle of the lobster, we discovered that the variations in the texture of lobster meat depended a great deal on what part of the molting cycle a lobster is in. Lobsters are in their prime when their shells are fully hardened, so no matter which lobster recipe you choose, you will have the greatest success with these.
While we prefer hard-shell lobsters to soft-shell lobsters, soft-shell lobsters are more available in the summer (late spring and early summer is the best time to find hard-shell lobsters). However, because hard-shell lobsters are more packed with meat than soft-shell ones, you may want to buy one-and-one-half- to one-and-three-quarter-pounders (for each person) if serving soft-shells. See "How to Determine Whether a Lobster is Hard or Soft Shell" below.)
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