Full Question:
When Chinese people prepare lobster they have a procedure called "releasing the urine" (放尿)--> chopstick is inserted into a little hole near the tail (anus?) about 10cm deep and then withdrawn, and usually murky liquids will gush out of it. They claim that lobster cooked without this procedure will often taste "funny" or brackish or stale. Have you ever heard of this and is this true?
Answer:
First of all, the orifice near the end of the tail is in fact the anus. Therefore, the murky liquid that comes out after the chopstick is removed is faeces, not urine. Urine would come out of the excretory pore, located at the base of the antennas. Nowadays, most live lobster shippers would first 'season' their lobsters before shipping. Seasoning is the term industry used to refer to a period of 2-3 days where lobsters are held before they are sold to consumers; this period should allow for the gastro-intestinal tract to empty itself. A less traumatic alternative to the chopstick method!