What gets you boiling?

[Winkfish]

Re: Beer's fer washing down the Zatarain's...

You are right, Wayne. Reminds me of a skit I saw on You Tube once by a local comedian (Stage name - "Poo Poo Broussard"). He and his cajun friends came across a space alien while they were hunting. One of them said, "What is it?" Poo Poo said, "I don't know. Go cook some rice."

 

[Ol Dave]

Source for square pans.
Look for the warming pans they use with a steam table of buffet. They are available at restaurant supply stores. Here is a local supplier, but there are many others.
http://chefs-supply.com/Product.aspx?productID=200298

Ol' Dave

 

[All U Get]

Ol Dave,
Thanks for the source on the pans. If we get sailing down south you'll know it's me because it will be close to supper time and I'll have newspaper for covering the table.
All U Get

 

[Forrest15112]

You are right, Wayne. Reminds me of a skit I saw on You Tube once by a local comedian (Stage name - "Poo Poo Broussard"). He and his cajun friends came across a space alien while they were hunting. One of them said, "What is it?" Poo Poo said, "I don't know. Go cook some rice."

I thought I had heard that ol' Poo-poo Broussard had changed his name. Supposedly he couldn't stand all the kidding around he got from folks. I think he goes by Poo-Poo Smith now. As far as cooking the lobster, I prefer steamed but have had grilled which seems easy on a boat.

 

[Morgan30]

When it comes to Lobster, I am looking to a guy named Maine for the advice! 1/2 inch of water would boil even on my Alcohol oven/stove! Cooking with alcohol is like sailing. It is not when you get there....it's how you get there!!!
(I have gotten a little two burner propane stove that I can put on top of the Alcohol stove)

 

[Maine Sail]

When it comes to Lobster, I am looking to a guy named Maine for the advice! 1/2 inch of water would boil even on my Alcohol oven/stove! Cooking with alcohol is like sailing. It is not when you get there....it's how you get there!!!
(I have gotten a little two burner propane stove that I can put on top of the Alcohol stove)

And when you do a real Maine lobster bake there is always some fresh rock weed sitting on top of the steaming ocean water for the lobsters to sit on top of while they steam away. Steaming this way gives the most tender and sweetest lobster you'll taste, literally melts in your mouth, but you need to start with fresh ones, not out of a tank at some grocery store. So, unfortunately, that's going to limit you to Northern New England for the utmost in palate pleasure......

We had a fun island lobster bake just this past Saturday night. Tim R. and his wife met a really nice family from the Carolina's who were up here cruising on a Caliber 40 LRC, just like Tim & his wife's boat, so we invited them to join us for a lobster bake. I suspect they had a good time.

At about 4:00 pm, from the anchorage, we took the dinghies over to a local lobster co-op dock where the lobsters were right off the boat and bought a bunch of soft shell pound and a quarters. We then put them in a mesh dive bag and hung them off the stern of one of the boats until the bake was to begin. Gotta keep them fresh!

Real Mainer's who love eatin' "bugs" don't eat those with hard shells. We leave those are for tourists who like to think they know what they're talking about when the order the "hard shells" at the restaurant, and PAY MORE..

But don't tell everyone the soft shells taste a LOT better, or the price will go up and the secret will be out..... I'll buy two "sheddahs" over a hard shell any day of the week..

Now, a real Maine lobster bake takes an entire day and involves a raging fire, started at crack-o-dawn thirty, and in a pit dug into the shore just above high tide. You get the fire really, really, really hot and line the pit with lots of granite rocks about 5-6" in diameter and heat the rocks for about 6 hours or until they are hot to the core. You then diminish the fire, sand only, and move all the rocks on top of the coals. Next you collect about three 5 gallon buckets of FRESH rock weed and lay 2 buckets of rock weed over the steaming hot rocks. You then quickly lay the steamers, bugs, corn & muscles on top of the rock weed and cover all of it with more rock weed. A heavy piece of wet canvas is then weighed down around the edges to seal it all up and keep the steam in. It is best to keep the muscles and steamers in a mesh bag. That is how a genuine Maine "lobstah" bake is done. They're not always realistic unless you have an entire day to kill, but "dahn tastey".

You then, very patiently, let the rocks turn the moisture in the rock weed into steam and the whole pit turns into a waterless steamer. It takes about 45-60 minutes for it to finish and then you're ready to feast!!!


Of course on an island, while cruising the Maine coast, they generally frown upon open fires so we do the next best thing and use an LPG single burner stove from Wal*Mart, and a Granite Ware lobster pot, but we still cook on top of the rock weed in the pot and we still steam them, the way it should be.. Ours holds 6-7 pound and a quarter bugs and fits nicely in the lazarette. Don't ask me how many quarts, I have no clue...

Sometimes, like on Saturday night, you need to make a wind break. Some tote bags and a folding chair cut the wind nicely.

We had ten people at the bake on Saturday night so each boat contributes bringing what they have on hand. Here's a quick list of things you can bring to make life more enjoyable for your "lobstah bake". You'll always forget something and need a runner to go back to a boat.

Bug Spray (HINT: If in Maine start your bake early so you can head back to the boat just as the sun sets)
Wine
Beer
Sangria
Butter
Salt
Pot to melt butter
Small cutting board
Leatherman or similar (always need one)
Butter bowls
Lobster picks
Forks, knives & spoons
Plates
Wine/bottle opener
Cheese, crackers etc. etc.
Dip
Corn
Fresh lobster
Things to sit on
Paper towels
Trash bags
Lighter
Cook stove & gas
Picnic cloth

We got lucky and a plastic chaise lounge chair had washed up on this island or had been left there by a local. It made a great table.

You can also pre-bake on-board the boat in foil baking dishes then transport it to an island for the lobster bake... Red potatoes work nicely with a lobster bake.

These were bought right off the boat from a lobsterman I know.

Sometimes we travel light just wine, butter and bugs....

Hungry yet...? I am.....

 

[Ross]

Kinda like a supercharger? you light the alcohol stove and then set the propane stove on top and light it and water boils super fast and twice as hot.?

 

[Gail R]

Maine, we heard you and Karina talking on the radio on your way to your bake. Gotta love the co-op being within reasonable distance, eh? We did the island lobstah bake a couple years ago and it was a blast indeed.

However, I take issue with the soft-shell v hard-shell. The captain of Rita P is a REAL Mainah (we're talking from further east, Rita P herself grew up in Penobscot), and he prefers the hard shell variety. There's some sense of satisfaction to be had when you crack that sucker!

As for the OP's question, I find it hard to believe that a Pearson 53 has no way to heat up a little water in a big pot? We put our pot on the Magma grill on the rail. With only a little water for steaming and a couple of bugs, it's not that heavy.

Of course the best way to do it is on shore the way Maine described.

 

[shawnee_sailor]

Yes, and I hate you Maine Sail. Only because you live on the East Coast and can actually get fresh seafood..

It's a bit more of a problem for those of us who live in the KC metro area...

My father used to tell me that back when he was a kid on Long Island, it was common to just go out to the beach, buy a couple of lobsters, wrap them in seaweed, bury them, build a fire on top. Then voila...a couple of hours later...lobster feast.

Now, granted this was in the 1930's/early 40's, but it must have been good

 

[PrettyJenny]

This doesn’t speak to what to do with lobsters, so much as what not to do.
When it’s meal time, the kitchen is my preferred place to be. Over the past years, I’ve cooked a lot of meals, on a lot of mediums. When I went on my first week long sailing trip two years ago, I took to the galley like a fish to water, and quickly became familiar with how to work the cabinet latches, freezer, gimbaled stove, and propane tanks. I was able to refine my techniques during subsequent trips on different boats, always looking for better “boat friendly recipes,” and ways to move about the galley.
This past Memorial Day weekend, I decided a lobster dinner at sea would be a great way to show friends a good time. I picked up some lobsters at the grocery store; we met our friends, set sail, anchored, and went for a quick walk. When we came back, I hopped down to the galley, lit the boat’s alcohol stove and put a large pot of water onto boil for the lobsters. It wasn’t long before I realized I needed the second burner lit to heat the butter. I took the pot of water off the stove, extinguished the lit burner, flipped open the top of the stove, and poured alcohol onto the second burner pad. The next thing I knew I felt this intense heat. I ran up the galley steps were told I was on fire, and jumped overboard into the water. Needless to say the lobster never turned into dinner.
Picture and a long version on the story can be found under this link (http://sailingit.com/blog/)
In a nutshell, we have come to conclude the first burner wasn’t entirely extinguished, so when I went to add alcohol to the second burner, the first burner flared up, and scared me into dropping the entire bottle of alcohol on the stove, which needless to say, caused an impressive flare-up.
In my defense, this incident occurred at twilight, and since alcohol often burns clear, it wasn’t super easy to tell there were still flames.
The moral of this story… If you’re not comfortable cooking on board, or just haven’t done it, I’d recommend you review your fire safety procedures, including where the fire extinguishers are kept, and take the time to get comfortable with your equipment in good light, near a dock. I’m lucky I’m telling this story with a whole head of hair.

 

[zeehag]

on long island we used to have clam bakes--put clams and lobsters and corn in a garbage pail, metal one, previously unused, add seaweed and some sea water, light a charcoal fire under this and add lid to top and cook a while-- bbq chicken and corn and feast. my uncle worked in maine in a fishery and got us lobsters every year also , on july 5th, grandpoppas birthday. was awesome. and , yes there is a proper way to do this, as maine has shown.

 

[Bob S]

Honestly, there is nothing better than a few pounds of steamers and muscles with lobster. In the 80's I used to dive for them. We used an old alcohol stove to steam them on my buddies Tanzer 25. Then sit back with drawn butter and a few Beck's beers and wow!

I'm not as young as I used to be. My dive suite doesn't fit and my tanks haven't been hydro-ed in 20 years so I have to buy them. For my first lobster (bug) experience on my boat we managed to buy a couple of 1-1/2 - 2lb-ers from a local fisherman in Lake Tashmoo Martha's Vineyard. Our eyes where bigger than our utensils! They were too big for anything I had on the boat. I dinghy'ed around to all our neighbors and found/borrowed a large pot from a nearby powerboater (nice people). Cooked them with a side of rice pilaf and a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc. What a picture until we realized we didn't have a nut cracker. They were hard shelled too. I had to get a pair of plumbing pliers out of the tool box. Necessity is the mother of invention

 

[All U Get]

As for the OP's question, I find it hard to believe that a Pearson 53 has no way to heat up a little water in a big pot? We put our pot on the Magma grill on the rail. With only a little water for steaming and a couple of bugs, it's not that heavy.

Hi Gail,
We were talking to another Pearson owner when taking on water the other day and they pointed out the cutout in the galley counter. Sure enough there was a three burner stove under there. Lobsters beware, I'll cook them if I have to use vice grips.
All U Get

 

[PopeyeGordon]

The best and most healthy lobster dish I ever had was in a Chinese restaurant. It was a complete surprise when they served me a platter of cut-up lobster with a dipping sauce of sweet red Chinese vinegar. They just chopped up the entire thing the way they chop whole chicken with a cleaver, the stirfried it with skill. I think it starts with some hot oil in the wok, then XO sauce was added. Three major benefits to this approach: The entire animal is easy to pick at for the meat without struggling. Wok cooking preserves and enhances the flavor. Dipping in the red vinegar was a delight, it complimented the flavor perfectly without the bad American habit of soaking in unhealthy butter. Serve with rice and vegetable. Find ingredients online or at an Asian supermarket.

 

[MrBill_FLL]

Great Thread!

I don't see too many lobsters with claws, but sure eat a lot of Florida Crawfish, for the grill I just split the tails in half, separate the meat from the shell but lay back in the shell, then and add some lemon juice/butter and spices put them on foil and close the lid. basting as needed till done. heads go in the trash before cooking.

I'm going to try steaming the tails... next time!

ps: MaineSail I'm digging the chaise lounger! LOL.

 

[JohnS]

Don't boil your water bugs (lobsters, crabs, whatever). Steam, grill, or saute them. Boiling makes the texture of the meat too mushy.

 

[kloudie1]

UUUhhhh John, ya gonna have a lot of Cajuns noting that we've been boiling crawfish for many years. and they are really tasty.
A few years ago, my buddy from New Hamsha' and I bought a few lobsters and boiled 'em as I would crawfish.. with sausage, onions, lemons, cauliflower, mushrooms, and Cajun crab boil seasoning.. They were mighty fine tasting !! and not mushy.. Yes, I have eaten them steamed and I like 'em that way too.

 

[JohnS]

Well, its not a rule if there aren't any exceptions, is it?