Directions

1. Place a steamer basket in a large stockpot, add 1 inch of water and bring to a boil over high heat. Place potatoes in the basket, cover the pot and steam for 4 minutes. Reduce the heat slightly, if necessary, to prevent boiling over.
2. Place lobsters on top of the potatoes; cover and steam for 4 minutes. Place clams and mussels on top of the lobsters and potatoes; cover and continue steaming for 4 minutes more. Place corn on top of the shellfish; cover and continue steaming until the clams have opened and the potatoes are tender, 4 to 8 minutes more.
3. Arrange the corn, mussels, clams and potatoes on serving platters. Remove lobster claws and tails by twisting them from the body. Cut the tails lengthwise (see How to Shell a Lobster, below). Discard the bodies. Add the split tails and claws to the platters. Serve immediately.

Tips

• Tip: To shell a lobster, grasp claw at the knuckle, near the body. With a firm twist, remove the claw from the body. Repeat with the second claw. To remove claw meat, crack through the claw shell using a pair of kitchen shears. (Alternatively, crack with a lobster cracker.) Holding the body in one hand and firmly grasping the tail in the other, twist and gently pull the tail from the body. (Discard the body.) Cut the tail in half lengthwise with kitchen shears, starting from the underside. Serve halves in the shell or remove the meat.
• Tip: To clean mussels, rinse very well under cold running water and use a stiff brush to remove any barnacles or grit from the shell. Discard any mussels with broken shells or any shells that remain open after you tap them lightly. Pull off any fibrous “beard” that might be pinched between the shells; the “beards” of most cultivated mussels are already removed.
• Equipment: Large stockpot, collapsible metal steamer basket