Whether you’re visiting Martha’s Vineyard for the weekend or you live here year round, lobsters on the beach in Menemsha are a must during the summer. There’s nothing more rewarding than breaking down your own lobster, so grabbing a few cooked lobsters from Larsen’s Fish Market is the perfect summer date night idea! At Larsen’s, they’ll cook up your lobster of preference and serve it up with as much drawn butter as you think you’ll need – and let me tell you, there’s nothing better than lobster and hot butter. The lobster are cracked and ready for you to just wiggle the sweet, tender meat out of their shell – even kitchen rookies will be able to do this simple task and once they do, they gratifying feeling is worth it!

Simple steps to breaking down a lobster on Menemsha Beach while watching the sun set:

1. Twist off the claws.

2. If you have a lobster cracker, crack each claw. If not, you can do this by hand by jiggling the claw and pushing the meat out with your fingers.

3. Separate the tail from the body and press down the center to extract the tail meat with your fingers.

4. Remove the shell from the underside by pulling apart and discard the green substance called the tomalley, and know as “lobster concentrate”. Take this home and whisk it into your next lobster bisque for intense flavor.

5. Enjoy the fruits of your labor!