Few ingredients reward the cook as generously as a good lobster, and few have historically asked so much in return. Live lobster demands a same-day kitchen, a large pot and a steady hand. Conventionally frozen lobster removes that burden but often at a cost: meat that clings stubbornly to the shell, and flesh that tightens and weeps once it hits the pan.
Our new Canadian Lobster Series begins with a lobster that resolves both problems. It is wild-caught in Atlantic Canada and frozen raw using a technique called Ultra High Pressure, or UHP. Before we introduce the range, it is worth explaining why that matters.
What is UHP?
Ultra High Pressure processing (also called high pressure processing, or HPP) places the freshly landed, raw lobster in a sealed chamber filled with cold water, which is then pressurised to many hundreds of times the pressure at sea level. There is no heat involved and no additives. The pressure is applied evenly from every direction, so the shell stays intact while the change happens within.
Three things happen in that chamber.
- The meat releases from the shell. The pressure loosens the connective tissue that binds muscle to shell. Tail, claw and knuckle meat come away cleanly and whole, without picks, crackers or a ruined shirt.
- The lobster remains raw. Unlike blanching, which is the usual method for extracting lobster meat, UHP does not cook the flesh. You decide how it is cooked, and it is cooked only once.
- It is quick and humane. The process is near-instantaneous, which is why it is widely regarded as one of the more humane ways to process shellfish.
The lobster is then frozen immediately, locking in the condition it was in on the day it was landed.
It is worth distinguishing UHP from the blast freezing we use for much of our fish. Blast freezing is about how quickly seafood is frozen: rapid freezing forms fine ice crystals that protect the structure of a fillet, a process we explain in Why IQF & Blast Freezing Matter. UHP is a step taken before freezing, and it is particular to shellfish, changing how the meat sits within the shell. The two serve the same end: seafood that reaches your kitchen as close as possible to the day it left the water.
Why it matters on the plate
Because the meat is never pre-cooked, it does not suffer the double-cooking that makes so much frozen lobster rubbery. Moisture and natural sweetness are retained, shrinkage is minimal, and the texture is that of a lobster cooked live: firm, clean and springy, with the faint brininess that marks cold-water shellfish.
It reflects a principle we return to often, set out in What Clean Food Really Means: good preservation protects what is already there rather than adding to it.
For the home cook in Singapore, the practical benefit is considerable. You can keep a lobster dinner in the freezer, ready on a weeknight, with the eating quality of a live one and none of the theatre.
From the cold waters of New Brunswick
Our lobster is Homarus americanus, the Atlantic lobster, wild-caught in the cold waters off Atlantic Canada and packed by Gourmet Chef Packers in Shediac, New Brunswick, a town that has long called itself the lobster capital of the world. Canadian lobster is fished under a seasonal, licensed and trap-based system designed to protect breeding stock, and the cold water produces dense, sweet, well-filled meat.
The Canadian Lobster Series
We are launching the series with two formats, each suited to a different kind of evening.
Wild Caught Canadian Lobster, Whole (400-500g)
The complete lobster: tail, claws, knuckles, and the head and shell for stock. This is the one for the grill, for a centrepiece, or for anyone who believes the shells are half the point.
Wild Caught Canadian Lobster Tail Meat, Shell-Off (50-60g per tail)
Whole raw tail meat, already out of the shell and ready for the pan. Ideal for lobster rolls, pasta, a quick butter-poach, or an elegant starter with no preparation at all.
How we love it
Whole lobster, grilled with garlic-parsley butter. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, or split lengthways while still semi-frozen. Brush the tail meat generously with garlic-parsley butter and grill flesh-side down over high heat for four to five minutes. Turn and finish shell-side down until the meat is just opaque. Roast the remaining shells for a quick stock.
Butter-poached tail meat. Thaw the tails in the refrigerator. Melt butter gently in a small pan with a splash of water to stop it splitting, keeping it well below a simmer. Slip in the tails and poach for five to seven minutes, turning once, until just opaque throughout. Finish with lemon, chives and flaky salt, and serve on warm brioche or through fresh tagliatelle.
A note on doneness: raw UHP lobster cooks faster than many expect. Remove it the moment the flesh turns from translucent to opaque; it will continue to cook as it rests. The tail meat also takes well to the treatment in our Garlic Prawns; simply allow a minute or two longer.
For an effortless first course, pair either format with our Bisque de Homard, a classic French lobster bisque.
Storage and thawing
- Keep frozen at -18°C or below until ready to use.
- Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, never at room temperature.
- Once thawed, cook within 24 hours and do not refreeze.
The Canadian Lobster Series will grow over the coming months. We begin with the whole lobster and the tail meat because they show, more clearly than anything we could write, what a difference pressure rather than heat makes. Explore the Canadian Lobster Series.
Further reading from The Fishwives
- Why IQF & Blast Freezing Matter: the science of fast freezing, and how it protects texture and flavour.
- What Clean Food Really Means: our view on sourcing, minimal processing and ingredients that need little else.
- Salmon vs. Trout: another cold-water story, on taste, texture and provenance.
- Prawn Recipes: shellfish dishes from our kitchen, many of which adapt beautifully to lobster.