quote:

Originally posted by Gibb:

quote:

Originally posted by RAMIUS:
Why do they throw back the big ones? Breeders?

That's what I'm told.

PHPaul has the answer on that- the Maine lobster fishery is probably the most sustainable fisheries in the world. they protect the breeders and babies so they can guarantee a good harvest. former mainer here. Naples FL now.

quote:

Originally posted by RAMIUS:
Why do they throw back the big ones? Breeders?

Yup. Also, any female caught that has a clutch of eggs has to have the tail notched and be thrown back as a known breeder.

Any female caught that has a notched tail, whether she has a clutch of eggs or not, has to be thrown back.

I got dinged on that once, just a few hairs missing off the center "flipper" on the tail but the Lobster Cops called it a notch. Didn't fine me, just told me to look closer.

I lobstered on a recreational license for part of one season many moons ago.

I assume if Costco is carrying it, then it was legal to catch it where it is from. Still, from a moral perspective, I kinda think that any creature that has eluded capture long enough to grow that old and that big deserves to be left alone.

I'm assuming that lobster claws will grow back like crab claws. Is it possible that is all that is harvested? Claws only.

Jim

quote:

Originally posted by Jimbo54:
I'm assuming that lobster claws will grow back like crab claws. Is it possible that is all that is harvested? Claws only.

Jim

Yes, they can regrow claws and legs, although it usually takes years.

Just tangentially, I worked with a fellow who became quite a friend in pharmaceutical R&D in the greater Chicago area who, for his biology based PhD dissertation research at Northwestern Univ., had undertaken a deep look into some unusual and intriguing aspect(s) of this crustacean's vision. This happily led to him having a year long(or more) continuous resupply of them(live ones) to legitimately 'dig' into, courtesy of his research grant. He never complained a whit.

My guess Chernobyl holding pond.

Probably got lost from a University of Michigan science lab like the mutant rabbit.

https://www.mlive.com/news/201...er-reports-show.html

"May 7, 2018: While conducting an animal health check on April 2, the caretaker discovered that a rabbit bred with artificially introduced DNA was missing. “The location of the animal is unknown," the lab concluded following a search of the premises."

I noticed a few in the brush piles on my mid-Michigan property were acting a bit strange today, not at all as skittish as they usually are... could have swore one was following me around.

I gave up trying to cook lobster at home. I can never get it right. I would never take the chance trying to cook a claw that large.

quote:

Originally posted by gpbst3:
I gave up trying to cook lobster at home. I can never get it right. I would never take the chance trying to cook a claw that large.

It's already cooked, you just have to heat it up. Lobsters I always cook longer than the online time says to and they come out good. Part of the problem with Maine Lobsters, is where you get them from. If you get them from a place that doesn't move a lot of them, they're not good. The water quality of the tank can be questionable, they can be in the tank for 2 weeks without eating anything, etc. all contribute to how well they taste. A restaurant not only knows how to cook them, they also move through them very fast after they're caught and shipped(usually).

quote:

Originally posted by gpbst3:
I gave up trying to cook lobster at home. I can never get it right. I would never take the chance trying to cook a claw that large.

I take a pair of shears cut the tails in half. Take half stick of softened butter, mix in some S&P, 2-3 cloves of pressed or finely minced garlic. Feel free to add any herbs you want as well, and/or finely chop some parsley to sprink on top at the end as garnish. Now that you have this garlic or garlic herb butter spread it on the meat side of the half tails.

Heat grill to 400ish +/- grill for a couple of minutes on shell side until you see garlic butter melt and flesh start to change in opacity. Flip and cook for slightly less time on the flesh side. There will be a flame up due to butter so keep an eye on them while cooking.

Enjoy the best lobster tails you've ever had. I always hated lobster, wife wanted some a few years back. I bought some tried this randomly and found it to be awesome, we now eat them this way on special occasions or when we catch tails on sale. I still don't like whole lobster and I don't find the claw meat nearly as good a properly cooked tail (which I never had until I cooked it myself as restaurants mess it up completely).

quote:

Originally posted by dynorat:
Probably got lost from a University of Michigan science lab like the mutant rabbit.

https://www.mlive.com/news/201...er-reports-show.html

"May 7, 2018: While conducting an animal health check on April 2, the caretaker discovered that a rabbit bred with artificially introduced DNA was missing. “The location of the animal is unknown," the lab concluded following a search of the premises."

I noticed a few in the brush piles on my mid-Michigan property were acting a bit strange today, not at all as skittish as they usually are... could have swore one was following me around.

quote:

Originally posted by Gibb:

quote:

Originally posted by RAMIUS:
Why do they throw back the big ones? Breeders?

That's what I'm told.

That kind of thing is pretty common in marine game regulation, both shellfish and finfish.

In Texas, redfish can only be kept if they're 20-28" (you do get one "trophy redfish" tag per year allowing you to keep a single fish over 28").

The reason is that the really big redfish (Texas state record is a 59.5 pound fish 54.25" long, and a 94 pound fish was caught on the east coast!) are the breeding females that keep the species going.

quote:

Originally posted by gpbst3:
I gave up trying to cook lobster at home. I can never get it right. I would never take the chance trying to cook a claw that large.

Actually it's easy peasy. If you want to grill it, do it like Skins mentioned. If you want to do it in the oven, cut the shell down the middle with the flat side down using kitchen shears. Slowly work the meat out and let it lay up on the shell. On larger tails, 6 oz. and up You'll see a dark line going down the center. That is a vein and should be removed because it can add a slight bitter flavor to the meat.

Put them on a baking sheet with a coating of melted butter with finely chopped garlic and some lemon juice added to it. Broil them on the center rack until they become completely opaque and the shell takes on a slightly reddish color. Usually takes 8-12 minutes depending on the size of the tails. If you have a digital thermometer you can check to see if they are roughly 145 degrees.

That's all there is to it.

Jim

I cook a lot of Carribbean lobsters tails (usually Bahamian) For just tails, I'll generally boil the raw tails for about 5 mins, or just until the meat starts to firm up, then I'll deshell them and chop them into 1" pieces and then saute them in a pan with butter, garlic and salt until done for 5 mins or so to finish them off or until cooked......you don't want to put lemon or lime on them while cooking them, as it will make them tough. Afterwards is fine.


The Maine or Atlantic lobster tails you find in the grocery store are already fully cooked, so you could just chop them and saute them like I do above.

Tails. Claws.
What are we talking about?

quote:

Originally posted by Jimbo54:

quote:

Originally posted by gpbst3:
I gave up trying to cook lobster at home. I can never get it right. I would never take the chance trying to cook a claw that large.

Actually it's easy peasy. If you want to grill it, do it like Skins mentioned. If you want to do it in the oven, cut the shell down the middle with the flat side down using kitchen shears. Slowly work the meat out and let it lay up on the shell. On larger tails, 6 oz. and up You'll see a dark line going down the center. That is a vein and should be removed because it can add a slight bitter flavor to the meat.

Put them on a baking sheet with a coating of melted butter with finely chopped garlic and some lemon juice added to it. Broil them on the center rack until they become completely opaque and the shell takes on a slightly reddish color. Usually takes 8-12 minutes depending on the size of the tails. If you have a digital thermometer you can check to see if they are roughly 145 degrees.

That's all there is to it.

Jim

I steam them - it is better than boiling. Equally easy. Eight minutes and then three extra minutes per pound over one pound. Thus a two pound lobster is steamed for 11 minutes. A three pounder is steamed for 14 minutes.

At that size they just don't look that appetizing, regardless of actual flavor.