LOBSTERS FEEL PAIN TOO

[nikia j.]

HELLO EVERYONE,
I JUST WANTED TO ASK A QUESTION REGARDING RESPECTING YOUR FOOD. I WAS TAUGHT TO NEVER PLAY WITH YOUR FOOD AND HAVE RESPECT FOR ANIMALS THAT HAD THEIR LIVES TAKEN TO FEED YOU.
WELL IN SCHOOL I NOTICE OTHER STUDENT PLAYING WITH THE LIVE LOBSTERS AND CRABS AND IT ANNOYS ME. THE THING THAT SET ME OFF TONIGHT(I WAS ALMOST IN TEARS) WAS MY ADVANCED GARDE MANGER ASSOCIATE CHEF TOLD US TO POACH A FEW LOBSTERS IN WATER AROUND 165 DEGREES. THE LOBSTERS WERE ALIVE IN THE HOT SIMMERING WATER FOR LIKE FIVE MINUTES BEFORE THEY DIED.
I THOUGHT THAT WAS JUST WRONG. I'VE NEVER SEEN IT TAKE SO LONG FOR LOBSTERS TO DIE. AM I BEING TOO SENSITIVE OR IS THAT COMMON PRACTICE?
WHEN I QUESTIONED THE CHEF ABOUT IT SHE SAID IF WE WERE TO STICK THEM IN BOILING WATER IT WOULD TOUGHEN THE MEAT, BUT IN MY OTHER CLASSES THE LOBSTERS WHERE EITHER CUT AND KILLED INSTANTLY OR DROPPED IN BOILING WATER. PERSONALLY, I THINK SHE JUST DID NOT CARE.
I WOULD LOVE TO GET SOME OTHER OPINIONS ON KILLING AND RESPECTING OR FOOD.
THANKS .../

[chefmomo]

I was always taught that killing them fast or putting them too sleep in the fridge kept the flesh tender. I maybe wrong on this with lobsters and we only do crayfish here.
Also if I remember right, if anyone gets caught treating them bad, they can be reported to the animal rights group. But as I said this is in NZ.

[thepearlqueen]

MMMmmm.. I think everyone may have something they detest doing that is part of the job. Yours appears to be having a bit too much empathy for the Lobsters and Crabs.

Mind you I am NOT condemning you for this..It's just how it is. I hate plucking and eviscerating fowl.

The only suggestion I have for you is to major in other than Seafood as a good amount of it comes to the restaurants live...

Any feelings toward majoring in Baking/Pastry??

The only thing that gets killed there is your waistline.}:~D

~ Roland

[ChefJune]

First of all, Nikia, please turnoff your caps. and whenever you find them accidentally on again, go back and rewrite your questions or comments. Folks around here don't appreciate being shouted at, and all caps is the cyber-equivalent of screaming at the top of your lungs. An All-caps word here or there for emphasis is another thing altogether. Okay, thanks!!

I don't know where your instructor went to "lobster school," but the liquid should always be boiling when the crustaceans go in. They will always scream, but they die instantly.

Roland gave some very sage (and humorous) advice when he suggested that if you couldn't stand seeing animals go from life to death that you consider a career in pastry... Killing the dinner is becoming increasingly common in restaurants... and you will also have to learn how to butcher the already dead animals.... Squeamish stomachs won't survive long.....

[aksli]

I agree with June that the water should be boiling and the lobster should also be placed in the freezer for a while first to send it to sleep.
the meat will go tough if it is over cooked. one way to slow down the cooking process as the meat around the extremities don't go tough is to turn the heat off after the lobsters go it. if the lobster has been in the freezer and the water is boiling, as the lobster hits the hot water it dies but as it is near zero degrees it will cool the water to a lower temp.
adjust your cooking temp accordingly. DON'T over cook.

[Mmm_Balut]

Lobsters are about this far | | from bugs on the evolutionary tree. If you can kill a bug, you can kill a lobster.

That being said, I always put my bugs in the fridge before boiling, its a whole lot easier and they don't try to pinch your fingers off.

[mistofleas]

I'd say it's more like this | | far blaut. Lobsters are the cockroaches of the sea. Tasty cockroaches, but cockroaches nonetheless. Now that doesn't mean that they should be made to suffer unduly, but they will need to die before being served and eaten.

Personally I put my lobsters in a large pot and then pour boiling water over their heads, covering them and killing them instantly. I then put the lid on and count to 30. I then remove the lobsters from the water and shell them while their still hot and raw. That way I can control the texture of the meat and it's never ever tough.

I'm not a mean person. I don't like to kill bugs or spiders and I certainly don't want anything to suffer, but I also grew up on a farm helping to butcher, pigs, chickens, cattle etc. so it's been part of my life since childhood, that understanding of the circle of life.

[nikia j.]

I apologize about the caps, once I realized they were on I had already typed a couple sentences and too tired to start over.
I usually can handle cooking lobster, just the way we did it last night seemed a little cruel.
I have seen them killed many times(I worked at Red Lobster *sigh*), but this time they were in a sauna kicking for dear life waaaay too long.
As far as baking and pastry goes, It's not for me....I'm a savory type of gal. My classmates were standing them up making them dance and putting the on each other so the can fight. I just hope the chefs that I work with in the future believe in a quick death.
Thanks for your help everyone...

[chefBren]

I've never heard of cooking lobsters at bath temperature. I always use boiling water just as the others said. I think if this guy insists on doing it like this, I would kill it with a knife before throwing it in the pot.

Usually letting animals get all full of adreneline before killing them toughens up the meat. A deer running full tilt through the forest, slowly bleeding to death will always be tougher than one killed on the spot with one shot, so I can't think that thrashing around in a pot for 5 minutes would do anything for the meat.

[nikia j.]

I just left Asian class a few weeks ago my classmates was eating a balut. beaks, wings and all...yuck!
Back in San Diego when I was a child my neighbors had chickens, geese, and ducks in their yard. I witnessed them grabbing them by the neck and doing what they had to do to put dinner on the table.
The way I feel about killing the lobsters is the way I feel about killing pigs. Now I love pork just as much as the next person, but I have seen (on tv) people who kill the pigs with bricks and/or bats bashing their heads in until they died. In my book that is unacceptable. Animals should be killed the quickest way possible with the least pain possible.

I bet it was cool being on a farm, I always wanted to milk a cow.

[mistofleas]

I bet it was cool being on a farm, I always wanted to milk a cow.

It's cool to milk cows until one of those suckers smacks you with it's tail. Boy howdy does that sting! You don't actually use your hands for most of it anyway since even back in the dark ages when I was a kid we had machines that were hooked up to the udders and pumped into containers sitting under the cow. Grandpa would come along after the pumps had been removed and "strip" the udders of ever last drop of milk. I wasn't strong enough to get it all.

Butchering chickens was my favorite thing though. I know it sounds weird, but I got sick pleasure out of seeing those nasty dirty evil critters get whacked and then frying them up for supper. Guess maybe I'd been pecked by chickens just once to often huh?

[cheflayne]

Question: Do carrots scream when you pull them out of the ground?...asked half in jest and half in earnest...Who am I to say?...I definitely believe in respect for the bounty of the earth.

[Lorraine]

since even back in the dark ages when I was a kid we had machines

I guess I pre date the dark ages. It was all done by hand.

[attie]

Nothing wrong with you having such feelings nikia J, shows you are a kind person. The chef obviously doesn't know what she is talking about and as far as making them tough by droping them in boiling water--rubbish!. Offcourse they have feelings and should be treated humanely, easiest way is to refrigerate them first, or, straight in to boiling water.

[ChefRich42]

Way back in the day when Dan Hugliere was chef at the Detroit Athletic Club my chef took me over to meet him and see his shop. He wanted to me to have understanding of how a great chef worked and thought. The most unforgettable memory of this was a very large lobster setting on a prep table. Chef Hugliere proceeded to gather the person up that left it there and go into an emotion rant about respecting the lobster. He said the lights are hurting it's eyes and to carefully put it back in the seaweed and in the walk in until it was ready to prepare. There was no b.s. in his voice. He said the lobster was giving up his life to make someone else happy and he darn sure was going to make his last days as comfortable as possible. I have never forgotten this.

For what it's worth.