Lobster Fascination*

[Kahuna Burger]

Important thing to note: most people in the world don't eat the "gross" parts to be gross - they eat them out of necessity. They can't afford to throw them away. And because of that, they also have to be much more creative and skilled in their food preparation.

It's only in the US where if something isn't a McNugget, we turn up our noses. We Americans are very spoiled (and wasteful) when it comes to food.

the only well fed people in the world live in America? Interesting take. I also like the morph from "doesn't want to gut my own food after it's cooked and while juices spray my tablemates" to "only eats McNuggets". Yup, that's exactly what people on this thread have been saying....

 

[Umbran]

Years and years ago lobster was considered a food for the "lower classes." I even recall hearing somewhere that it was illegal to feed your servents lobster more than twice a week. Where did this rise in popularity come from, and why?

Fashions dealing with social status have less to do with the actual quality of an item than they do with scarcity and expense. In colonial Boston, for example, lobster (and seafood in general) was cheap, and red meats weren't. So guess which ones the servants got fed? Today, red meats are cheap, but lobster isn't...

 

[cignus_pfaccari]

I have three requirements for any food of the animal kingdom... It must be dead, it must be gutted, and it must be cooked. Lobster fails #2, and thus is not consumed.

My primary requirement for any food that moved under its own power at any one point in time is that it have an endoskeleton.

In my eyes, exoskeleton = bug. So, more for Piratecat!

The in-laws recently had a lobster night, and the green waste smeared plates that remained after were just disgusting. Yeah, I want to eat a food that I have to pick out from between its own oozing intestines....

We went to Legal Seafoods for my lady friend's birthday, and the vegetarian chick ordered softshell crabs.

She did not realize precisely what that meant.

I thought that was terribly funny, but neglected to say "I told you so!"

Brad

 

[Merkuri]

...the vegetarian chick ordered softshell crabs.

She did not realize precisely what that meant.

What did she think it meant? I would think that any vegitarian would know enough to stay away from things that had meat in the title, like "crab".

That's like someone who's allergic to milk ordering a cheesecake.

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

We went to Legal Seafoods for my lady friend's birthday, and the vegetarian chick ordered softshell crabs.

She did not realize precisely what that meant.

I thought that was terribly funny, but neglected to say "I told you so!"

Brad

Many people who say they are vegetarian eat seafood. This drives my wife nuts because we'll go someplace and she'll ask about vegetarian food and they'll show her the seafood section. We assume this idea comes from the lenten practice of not eating meat on Fridays. Since seafood is acceptable, seafood must not be meat.

Oh, and Piratecat, you can have my lobster if you will pass on the scallops and leave those for me.

 

[tzor]

I live on Long Island still in Lobster terrirory and I tend to like lobster. If anything I tend to not like the work but these days a lot of resturants do a lot of the precutting for you and I've got a few tools to do the work when at home.

On the other hand I also lived in Key West Florida, where that other "lobster" lives, the one who moves in single file convoys where you only eat the tail. They really aren't that bad, and sometimes I like to eat them beause they are less work, but they are not as good as the ones of the North East US.

I've heard a joke that might explain why people in Maine might not like lobster. All the good lobster gets shipped out of state and what is left isn't as good. There has been lots of problems in the Long Island Sound these past few years, but every now and then you can still see the markings of a lobster pot in the waters.

One place (a real tourist trap) on both shores of eastern Long Island is the "Lobster Roll" where they serve lobster out of the shell on a hot dog style roll. Yumm.

 

[werk]

I prefer lobster more as an animal and an industry than as a food, but it's not that bad.

It is very easy to overcook, which makes it chewy or rubbery and mostly tasteless. Properly prepared, it should taste very sweet and have a firm yet tender consistency.

Personally, I think it is too much work. I much prefer it in salads or sauces, so I can just eat it instead of dissecting it.

Crawfish, on the other hand, well worth the work...hell, the work is why they taste good.

 

[GlassJaw]

I live on Long Island still in Lobster terrirory and I tend to like lobster. If anything I tend to not like the work but these days a lot of resturants do a lot of the precutting for you and I've got a few tools to do the work when at home.

One place (a real tourist trap) on both shores of eastern Long Island is the "Lobster Roll" where they serve lobster out of the shell on a hot dog style roll. Yumm.

I was there last week!! I love LI, especially Montauk. The Hamptons are nice but get a little obnoxious. We got 15 lobsters from Gosman's.

Actually, the lobster roll is actually just called "Lunch". And it is certainly a tourist destination but definitely has good food. It's a tourist destination for a reason.

 

[Ferret]

Fresh lobster is good -- drop em in the pot while they're still alive, consume piping hot with some drawn butter, and yummm.

Other than that, lobster is generally only good as a transport mechanism for a good sauce, etc. and I agree, not worth the cost.

I would also highly recomment fusangite's story over on CM about lobster. Not for the squeamish

You need to cook them from cold water hot, because apparently if you shock them they defecate themselves. That's what I heard.

I also had someone come up to the deli counter (where I work) and their kid said, non stop for about 2-3 minutes whilst they were served "I want real ham that's not real ham I want real ham that's not...." And on and on. He wanted the 'billy bear' stuff from a packet I suspect.

It made me kind of sad but also rather annoyed, my mum over heard a kid saying on the beach "I want to go in the river" I'd assume he didn't know whaty the sea was...

 

[Rodrigo Istalindir]

You need to cook them from cold water hot, because apparently if you shock them they defecate themselves. That's what I heard.

I also had someone come up to the deli counter (where I work) and their kid said, non stop for about 2-3 minutes whilst they were served "I want real ham that's not real ham I want real ham that's not...." And on and on. He wanted the 'billy bear' stuff from a packet I suspect.

It made me kind of sad but also rather annoyed, my mum over heard a kid saying on the beach "I want to go in the river" I'd assume he didn't know whaty the sea was...

Typically, I steam them, not boil. Still a shock, but I've never had a problem with lobster feces (as far as I know)!

Heh, I was crossing the Potomac on the train the other day, and some tourist kid was going nuts pestering his mom to 'look at the ocean'. I'm thinking, come on kid, don't be stupid -- you can see both banks from here and we'll cross it in 30 seconds.