Learning how to eat a whole lobster can seem pretty intimidating, but it's pretty simple if you're willing to get a little messy. A lot of times, the whole lobster will be cheaper than the lobster tail if you have to put in the labor to crack it open yourself, so follow along and you'll be a lobster eating pro in no time.
Preparation
When you first order your lobster, you'll probably be brought a selection of tools similar to this. You have a bib, and you should definitely put it on if it's your first time eating a lobster. You also have a tiny fork—that's to help scrape the meat out. You also have a nut/lobster cracker, and finally, you have a little towelette for when you're finished.
Soon, your lobster will arrive. Take a deep breath, and try not to look into its eyes.
The Tail
We'll start with the easiest part. Separate the tail from the body, you might need to pull or twist, and it should come right off. After you have it, you can either pull off the fins at the bottom and pull the meat out of the hole it creates, or pull the tail apart from where it was attached to the body to split it into two halves.
Whether it's whole or in halves, use the tiny fork to pull the meat out of the shell, and try to do it in one piece.
This is the easiest part and gives you the most meat, but knowing how to eat a whole lobster involves getting all of the morsels from the various nooks and crannies.
Claws
After your tail is done, it's time to crack open the claws. Twist them off right where they're attached to the body so that you have the lobsters whole... arm.
Twist off the bottom part of the arm,
Then crack the claw in the center, between the grabby parts.
This should create an opening, where you can pull the meat out with your little fork. If you do it properly, it will come out in a whole claw shaped piece, which is both cute and disturbing.
Tiny Bits
The tail and claws are where the majority of the meat are located, but you can also find tiny bits of meat all throughout the lobster. You can suck the meat out of the end of the tail fins, for instance. You can also get meat out of the knuckle, but I've never been able to get much from there.
Make sure to pull off the end of the legs and suck the meat out of them.
Most people split the lobster down the middle and eat the parts inside there, but... There's also some good reasons to avoid that section, so I left mine whole. Also, that part is kind of gross to me.
This is a great beginner's method on how to eat a whole lobster, but there are also different techniques, some of which are more thorough and give you access to every tiny edible bit. You don't have to be a lobster expert to delve into the whole lobster, and you can explore further if you like, but for your first lobster, this is a solid guide.