Place the lobster on a plate or tray with a nutcracker, seafood fork, and napkins
Twist off the claws and legs
Crack the claws with a nutcracker and remove the meat
Use a seafood fork or pick to pull meat from the claw joints
Twist off the tail
Bend the tail backward to loosen the shell
Pull apart the tail shell and remove the tail meat in one piece if possible
Remove the dark vein from the tail meat if present
Crack open the knuckles and legs to extract the meat
Lift the top shell from the body
Remove and discard the gills and stomach sac
Pick out the body meat from the body cavities
Dip the meat in melted butter, lemon, or sauce if desired
Eat the meat with a fork or by hand if appropriate for the setting