So you’ve purchased delicious Maine lobster online, but aren’t ready to cook it yet. Many of you wonder how long a lobster will live out of the water. The good news is that with a bit of care and attention, these creatures will do just fine.

On a few occasions, we’ve (accidentally) stored live Maine lobsters in our fridge for almost 10 days. Disclaimer: while we’ve done this, we suggest cooking a lobster on the same day you receive them. That’s the best-case scenario. With that being said, let’s dive into how to properly store lobster in the refrigerator in case you have to store them for a day or two.

Photo credit: eviltomthai

Use Damp Newspaper

The most common trick in the book is to store the lobster with damp newspaper. It’s critical to keep the lobster moist. If you’re near the ocean, you can wrap them in seaweed too. Once again, your goal is to keep the lobster moist. They don’t need to be wet.

We suggest putting damp newspaper above and below the lobsters.

Rubber Bands. On? Off?

“Should I keep the rubber bands on?” We hear this question all the time.

The answer is: YES! You won’t have to worry about getting pinched (it hurts!) – just leave the rubber bands on.

Do: Store Lobsters on the Bottom Shelf

Avoid contamination of other food by storing lobster on the bottom shelf. Keep other food items away from the lobster. It’s just a good practice. Oftentimes we use the crisper drawer as a temporary home for them.

Other advice when storing lobster

1. Never store lobsters in fresh water – they will die.
2. Cook lobsters that act weak as soon as possible. They tend to have droopy claws, and aren’t as responsive as others.
3. Act quickly when transferring lobster to the fridge. The longer they are exposed to the heat, the shorter they live.
4. Don’t store lobsters in the freezer.
5. Cold lobsters act lazy. Don’t let this surprise you. They won’t crawl around in the fridge.
6. Don’t store lobsters in your bathtub.