Monday, December 14, 2009

Lobster Talk

I've had (and love, love) crab. I know its taste, what it takes to get at the meat. No so, lobster, which I've had only a taste of (and didn't care for). Which poses a pickle, because the main character in my WIP has just ordered one for dinner. This scene ties to a lot for my protagonist, and I need to build it right.

Say you've ordered a whole lobster.

How does it come from the kitchen? What's it look like? How in the world do you crack into it? What are those little crab-crackin' tools even called, and do you use the same thing for lobster? How's it taste? Does it come with butter? Anything else? Do you risk shots to the eye, as with crab? Doesn't a cheddar garlic biscuit sound delish right about now?

Tell me what you know.

37 comments:

Katie Ganshert said...

I'm not a crab eater, so I'm afraid I won't be any help! hope you find the answers you're looking for. :)

Rebecca Nazar said...

Being from Maine, oh yeah, I can get all the meat out of a lobstah within minutes with minimal mess.

I've only eaten steamed ones, not baked (these are spit for easy access) Anyhoo, once cooked, lobsters are red--a greenish brown when alive. I've used the tools for years, but like you, I don't know their names. Can't compare the taste to anything else. Umm, it's usually not as sweet as crab, though. Oh yes, butter is vital. Most eat it with an ear of corn and white roll. No shot to the eye, but it is messy. Novices use plastic bibs, usually adorned with a lobstah--so you are reminded what you about to eat if confused ; )--which come with all meals.

Ayah, loved writing this, but check out Wiki-How. I'm confident you'll have all you questions answered.

Love biscuits.

Jessica Nelson said...

I don't like lobster but hubby eats it up. There are tools too. The lobster comes on a plate, but sometimes it's just the tail. It's split open and hubby uses a TON of butter. It's disgusting. LOL!

Donna M. Kohlstrom said...

Being from New England where eating lobster is a daily event...not for me!...I can give you details.

First you shove the live lobster (so cruel!!) headfirst into a pot of boiling water for a few minutes until it turns red. Remove from pot. Everyone has their own way to crack it but usually you twist off the tail, slice down the middle of the back part of it and remove the meat. Then twist claws off, crack open and remove meat. Dip in a gallon of warm butter and eat. You take off the small crawly legs and suck meat out and some people eat the eggs, etc. Yuck!

Always turn head when twisting off body parts or you may get an eye bath!

Hope that helps!

Anonymous said...

I think you need to go out for a nice lobster dinner! Should be tax deductible - a work related dinner?

Seriously it's as good as an excuse to eat a lobster as I can think of...take full advantage. It's your duty to find out all the details first-hand. ;-)

-FringeGirl

Jill said...

Sounds to me like you need a trip to Red Lobster. Nothing better than first hand experience. (And all the garlic cheddar biscuits you can eat!) : )

Rosaria Williams said...

I'm listening too. Mostly, I had just legs or already cracked lobster.

Joanne said...

Don't forget to have your mc put on her Lobster Bib!!!

(Love this idea of "fishing" for research via the blog, very innovative!)

Wendy Paine Miller said...

It has a slight rubbery taste. Gummy almost. I love it. Heated butter. Don't eat the greenish inards.

I have a musical award for you on my blog today.
~ Wendy

Kristen Torres-Toro said...

I know nothing. But I keep seeing Phoebe on "Friends" saying, "See? He's her lobster!"

Susan R. Mills said...

I love lobster. I've only had a tail, not the whole thing, but yummy! I think you need to go have some. You know, research and all. :)

Janna Leadbetter said...

Thanks, all!

I edited out the blurb about how I dislike the taste of lobster, so a trip to Red Lobster is out. (I'd go for crab, mm-hmm.) You guys are the next-best thing. :)

Keep the info comin'!

Jody Hedlund said...

My hubby grew up eating lobster. He's from the East. Last summer when we visited his parents, we went down to the fish market, bought fresh lobster, and then brought it home and cooked it! It was a big mess! Lots of cracking and digging to get at the meet. Some dipped the meat in butter, and others didn't. But I personally am a mid-western gal, and so lobster isn't my forte!

Patti said...

You've just made me extremely hungry.

Lynnette Labelle said...

I love lobster, but order a tail rather than the whole thing. There's so much waste if you order the full lobster. I prefer it with melted butter on the side to dip. As a tail, it's already cut open for you. The "meat" is like a puff sticking out of the hard shell, but is still attached at the end, so you have to either cut it or rip it away from the shell.

I like crab, too, but find it's a lot saltier than lobster. Also, with lobster, it can easily be over or under cooked, which means tough/crunchy or soggy, semi-transparent, and fishy tasting. When done to perfection, it almost melts in your mouth.

Hope this helps.

Lynnette Labelle
http://lynnettelabelle.blogspot.com

JLC said...

I can sing to 'Rock Lobster' by the B52s. But thats about as close to seafood as I will get. Bleh!

Enjoy writing your scene!

P said...

I could SO go for a cheddar garlic biscuit right about now....yum!!

septembermom said...

I haven't tried seafood. I know, I'm probably missing out. Hope you get some good advice :)

Anonymous said...

I'd just go with crab cakes or crab bisque. Whole crabs always look like a lot of work. :O)

Deb said...

Looks like you've gotten lots of good advice. I'm with you, I love crab - find lobster rather bland.

Is there a tool called a lobster pick?

Nadine said...

Whenever I've had it, it's come from the kitchen with the back split open and the fluffy white meat billowing out of it. Never used anything to crack it, just a fork to pull the meat out. And dip it in butter. Yum...

Tamika: said...

I've only eaten crab once. It was delicious, but hubby and I were terrible at getting the shell apart from the meat. We looked like such amateurs!

Angie Muresan said...

What I know is that I've gotten very hungry reading about that lobster and those biscuits. Red lobster is a good place to start. And part of the fun is wearing a bib like a two-year old.

Ellie Kings said...

I'm no help to you on this one, since I myself don't care for either lobster or crab. I'm sure you'll get help from the others. :)

Jenni James said...

LOL! All I know for sure, is that one of my first dates ordered lobster and his little fork flew out of his hand and landed in the lady's poofy hair behind us. she never even felt the forK! LOL!

Good luck!

Jenni

Sherrinda Ketchersid said...

Good luck with that! I know NOTHING about eating seafood, as hush puppies are the only seafood I like. ;)

Linda Hoye said...

I love lobster....or maybe it's the butter that I dip the pieces in that has captivated my taste buds....either way...yum. And those biscuits...oh my. I'm thinking Red Lobster is in my near future!

Janna Leadbetter said...

I don't know about you all, but I've been thinking about crab all day...

Jill Kemerer said...

Oh no you didn't! I've already been eating like a half-starved maniac and now you put lobster in my mind. Thanks a lot Janna, thanks a lot.

Cheddar biscuits are necessary.

Elana Johnson said...

I wish I knew, but I don't like seafood. I know, I know. Another strike against me, right? LOL!

Carol J. Garvin said...

Can you believe I live on the west coast and don't like most seafood? I have a good excuse: my DH is allergic to shellfish so we're careful to avoid it. A nice pan-fried rainbow trout, or barbecued salmon steak, is pretty tasty, but my only Atlantic experience with crab and lobster convinced me that as gourmet treats they're wasted on me. Sorry.

Roz Morris aka @Roz_Morris . Blog: Nail Your Novel said...

Have your character take off all rings and roll up her sleeves! She's gonna get messy. Her wine glass will go cloudy with buttery fingermarks. Plus if no one else is having lobster, they will all have finished long before she has.

Patti Lacy said...

I LOVE lobster and crab and all things from the ocean.

Since you have more than enough info on Lobsters, I'll tell you a story...

We used to lower nets made smelly with chicken necks into the Gulf and then run around till Mom said they were ready.

When warring crabs, often their pincers entangled, overflowed the net, we pulled 'em out, took 'em home, and dumped 'em in an awaiting boiling pot.

After their shells kinda got dull and spotty-looking, we'd take 'em out, spread 'em on a table covered with newspaper, and dig in.

Deb Shucka said...

I'd take a Dungeness crab over lobster any day. I think you should go to a restaurant and order lobster for the first hand experience. Or better yet, get one and cook it yourself. That will give you something to write about for sure.

I'm starving right now.

Janna Leadbetter said...

There's some really great stuff here, thanks!

Nom nom nom...

Melanie Hooyenga said...

I think you got all the advice you need. Can I just say I'm starving right now and a cheddar garlic biscuit sounds AWESOME!

Woman in a Window said...

I LOVE this, using all of us for research. How smart of you. Very cool.

I had a lobster once about twenty years ago. I hated it. But I have craved lobster ever since. Weird eh?
xo
erin