One of the most annoying things about cooking with seafood is the shells. Unfortunately, lobster is no different, and has to be shelled before you can get to the tasty meat in the center. Luckily, shelling a cooked lobster is actually pretty easy after a little practice. Just follow these steps and you’ll de-shell a lobster in no time:

  1. Twist the tail off from the body.
  2. Remove the claws by twisting them off.
  3. Pull off all the flippers at the end of the tail and push the meat out through the front of the shell with your finger.
  4. To remove the cartilage in the pincers, constantly bend the lower, smaller pincer shell on the claw from side to side. Then, pull it away from the claw. Hopefully, the cartilage will come free attached to the cartilage within the claw.
  5. Crack the top side of the claw with the back of a chef’s knife. Be careful not to crack too hard or you risk crushing the meat inside. Rock the knife back and forth until the claw splits open.
  6. Break open the claw shell and remove the claw meat in one piece.
  7. Cut open the small pincer and arm sections with scissors and remove the me.