Lobster (or: Foods I'm curious about)

[Dasquian Belargic]

I'm having a bizarre craving for lobster right now. I say bizarre because I've never actually eaten any lobster before, but seem to be getting bombarded with imagery of them lately that is making want to try a nibble or two.

So, anyone who has tried it, what's it like? Does it live up to the hype? It always seems to be spoken highly of. o_O

If you haven't tried it, feel free to use this thread to ask about foods you're curious about, or just... share unusual recipes that you think others might enjoy :)

[Flux]

This totally doesn't count, but I like Crab Rangoon, this nutty appetizer that the local chinese place serves. I'm sure there's something about it different from eating an actual lobster.

My brother and stepfather eat lobster, and they love it to death. I'm not sure why, as I never bothered to ask, but they always eat the entire thing and never regret it for a second.

[Cat X]

Lobster is cheapish in Australia and it is also damn good. Quite sweet in reality an works well hot or cold.

[Ilias Nytrau]

Oh my, lobster is so, so yummy. But I've yet to meet a sea creature I didn't like.

[Dameia]

Lobster is delicious, as is crab meat. Don't be afraid to try it, unless you fear addiction, of course. :D

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Lobster is delicious. And just as fun as eating the lobster, is taking the shells afterward and making lobster stock with them so you can then make lobster bisque :yum

When you come out here Jen, I'll buy us lobsters :D

[Banner Laverick]

I don't really eat a lot of seafood, but I love fake crab meat (does that even count??) and I'm starting to eat shrimp more. Torpedo shrimp (crispy breaded, yummy!) are my fave.

Have never had lobster, but like Zeke, a bazillion family members love it.

Foods I'm curious about are lactose-free foods, since milk/dairy has been making me feel sick as heck lately.

[Dameia]

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!! please tell me you're joking Dae!!!! imitation crab is vile! :cry

[Banner Laverick]

I really like it.

Foods I don't like are all really smelly and have basically the same texture - onions, peppers, etc. ICK. Ask Charley or Christin, or even Zekey; I'm way too picky an eater >_>;

[Dasquian Belargic]

Now that I think about it, I don't think I've tried crab either. I only recently had my first taste of prawns. ^_^;

sIl - lobster bisque! I want to try that too. I think I need to get out to some swanky restaraunt, 'cause I can never recall seeing lobster on sale anywhere.

[Jacinda Blake]

I love most seafood.

I grew up on the Massachusetts coast, so I think it was a requirement though.. :p

Lobster is nice. I think I'm more fond of the claw meat, than the tail. As far as texture, it's firm. Not too sweet, not too fishy and most delectable in gobs of butter. :D

Crab is much the same, althoug slightly more fishy. I prefer dungeness crab because it tends to be a bit sweeter and more pleasing to the palate.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Haha, she is :p

If you're starting to have trouble with milk, try out the Silk brand chocolate soymilk. Or heck, they even make a vanilla flavored kind. Stick with those though, since Silk's normal soymilk is sweet.

Also, if you do end up becoming lactose intolerant, get ready to never eat pizza again :( It sucks. A lot.


edit - going out to a restaurant for lobster is a very good idea. Are there any Red Lobster joints around you?

[Ilias Nytrau]

I don't really eat a lot of seafood, but I love fake crab meat (does that even count??) and I'm starting to eat shrimp more. Torpedo shrimp (crispy breaded, yummy!) are my fave.

Have never had lobster, but like Zeke, a bazillion family members love it.

Foods I'm curious about are lactose-free foods, since milk/dairy has been making me feel sick as heck lately.

OOh... I drink goats milk. It has a somewhat different taste to cow milk, but once you get used to it, you don't notice any difference anymore. And goat cheese, in my opinion, is darn yummy. If only I could find goat ice cream around here....

I'm not a big fan of soy milk, if you couldn't tell by my endorsement of goat's milk, haha.

And yes...imitation crab? There's something wrong there. I have only ever had REAL crab and...gosh, I crave it often.

[Banner Laverick]

When I eat chocolate, my teeth hurt >_< It's so awful. There's a type of organic chocolate soy milk that I like, but I need a milk-replacement milk, I guess. I'll have to try Silk.

I'll just pick the cheese off my pizza, like I used to do when I was a little kid XD

[Dasquian Belargic]

Red Lobster? Is that a chain? The name doesn't ring a bell.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Oh! I forgot to mention, in regards to dipping lobster in butter, once you've melted the stick of butter, put Old Bay in it.

[Zem-El Vymes]

Lobster is pretty good, but it's got nothing on a pound or two of crawfish.

[Mitch]

My uncle deals in seafood and shellfish. Like, the awesome stuff. But, sadly, due to my whole bad reaction to copper thing, I can't have lobster, crab, shrimp, or any shellfish, and can't have salmon, either. Which sucks because I used to get free lobster, and free shrimp and crab legs which were so big, they'd make restaurants cry...

But, lobster is delicious. Not as good as Alaskan king crab, but still tasty.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

I've never had lobster or crab either, though I've not ever wanted to either. I don't like shrimp. Basically the thought of eating something that used to be goo contained in a shell is sort of nasty to me. :p I stay away from shellfish as well.

I will eat fish though! :mneh

[Flux]

Red Lobster? Is that a chain? The name doesn't ring a bell.Yes it is. I'm not sure it'd be in the UK...I think it's based in America. You'll have to eat there when you visit, I guess.

[Liam Jinn]

Lobster is pretty good, but it's got nothing on a pound or two of crawfish.

You are correct sir!

[Yog]

But, lobster is delicious. Not as good as Alaskan king crab, but still tasty.

This. This. This!

We have King Crab in Norway too nowadays. At the summer house, I used to catch and gather a good few kilos in claws / legs of king crab meat every few summers. Because of the temperature in water, or food supplies, they get ridiculously huge on the coast here. Just one leg of those giant beasts has more meat than a single lobster tail. As good as lobster is, it has nothing on king crab.

Look!
http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/5397/25ke0.jpg



King Crab Safari

The king crab is an exotic animal which also tastes good - and Varanger is the ideal place to try it. In the Varanger fiord there are huge groups of king crabs which are just waiting to entertain you. The largest crab ever caught here measured 1.8 metres from tip to tip and weighed 14 kg. The largest examples in the world of this type of crab are to be found in the Varanger area. Each year in October, Polar Spectacle, a king crab festival dedicated to the animal, is held.


http://www.varanger.com/content.php?lang=eng&id=25

Edit: further information



Varanger king crab (paralithodes camtschaticus) is the biggest crab species in the world. The largest crab ever caught in Varanger weighed approximately 15 kg and measured almost 2 meters from tip to tip. King crab sub species are also found in the Northern Pacific Ocean, Bering Sea and just outside the Californian coast. In Russia the king crab is called "Kamtchatka crab" and in english the crab sub species which lives in Varanger is called "the red king crab". Varanger king crab grows much bigger than it's cousins in the other sea areas. The average weigh of the king crab caught in Alaska is 2-3 kg. The mean weigh of the Varanger king crab in commercial fishing lies around 4-5 kg.

King crab fishing season in Norway stretches from the beginning of october to the end of december. Polar Spectacle, a king crab festival with many cultural and musical events and of course good food, opens the king crab season is every year in the middle of october. Lobster and king crab are the most valued and the most expensive sea food products Norway produces to the world market. Varanger king crab with is's enormous crab meat filets is one of the main ingredients in Bocuse d'Or 2007, the World championship of the chefs in France. A gourmet dinner with fresh Varanger king crab on the menu is an uforgettable gourmet experience which you never will forget.

[Dasquian Belargic]

:eek

Looks like you could live on that for a week!

[Yog]

:eek

Looks like you could live on that for a week!

You bet! I filled up the whole freezer with legs and claws of those things. You cook the legs and claws (with shell on), and then you put the meat on a french baguette and add some mayonnaise. Oh god. Bliss! I had that as lunch menu for months, and never got tired of it :)

[Flux]

That is the manliest sea creature ever.

[Veritas]

Jenny, when you come down, we'll roll out the works for you and cook all sorts of things.

[Solani Naleen]

Despite all the good reviews on lobster and all. One thing you have got to be careful of is to make sure the lobster is cooked properly. If it's not, then it will not be good.

And curse you all on talking about lobster. Now I want some and I don't want that cheap old imitation stuff.

[Kraehe Branwen]

I never tried real lobster only the fake stuff. Its sweet. But good, especially in butter.

Anyone ever think it was a little f'ed up that the lobsters were awaiting death in those aquariums in Red Lobster while people seemingly partied it up about their oncoming doom? I thought about that last time I was there for my birthday. My husband laughed at me but its true. We all gathered there for one sole purpose. To eat them. And we're all laughing and socializing about it. So technically that is a party isn't it? There IS music too. >.> But they are delicious...

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

I refuse to order a whole lobster at Red Lobster. No thank you. I buy the thing elsewhere and cook it myself. It's satisfying in a way.

And on the subject of those king crabs, holy mackeral!! I want to try some now :yum

[Mitch]

Yog, imagine one of those, but another 1/3 to 1/2 bigger. Heh, that's the stuff my uncle used to give me. I had to break the legs to get my freezer door to shut!

Oh, how I miss crab...

[Sanis Prent]

I never tried real lobster only the fake stuff. Its sweet. But good, especially in butter.

Anyone ever think it was a little f'ed up that the lobsters were awaiting death in those aquariums in Red Lobster while people seemingly partied it up about their oncoming doom? I thought about that last time I was there for my birthday. My husband laughed at me but its true. We all gathered there for one sole purpose. To eat them. And we're all laughing and socializing about it. So technically that is a party isn't it? There IS music too. >.> But they are delicious...

I don't like the whole ritual behind killing lobsters and such. I refuse to participate when Christin brings one in.

[Dasquian Belargic]

When I went shopping this week, I had a little browse of the fresh sea-food section but I didn't really know what to try. I need someone to be my personal shopper :mneh

[Khendon Sevon]

Oh, man. Lobster.

Best lobster I had:

A black lobster pulled fresh from the Mediterranean that day while in Greece. It was so big I split it with my brother! Talk about amazing. Mmm...

My father regularly buys lobster for us and king crablegs. It's the advantage of owning a diner ;)

Mmm... seafood is wonderful!

Softshelled crabs are yummy, too. So are fresh shrimp (throw 'em on a grill with shells on, yum, yum).

Things to try? Mmm... everything! Does that help?

[Lilaena De'Ville]

When I went shopping this week, I had a little browse of the fresh sea-food section but I didn't really know what to try. I need someone to be my personal shopper :mneh

Ask the man/woman behind the seafood counter. :)

[Zem-El Vymes]

You know, if you come here in early May, we have a crawfish festival. Massive amounts of crawfish, beer, and local music.

[Cat X]

That is the manliest sea creature ever.

Oh I dunno about that. There's always crocodile.

Which very interestingly is by far the sweetest meat I've ever had

[Byl Laprovik]

Croc is sweet? That is bizarre, since Alligator isn't. You'd think there would be a similarity there.

[Dasquian Belargic]

I think I have located a seafood restaraunt in the city centre. Some investigation is necessary!


Ask the man/woman behind the seafood counter. :)

That's madness! We Britons don't converse with strangers! :p

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Food to have for when Jenny comes:

Lobster
Gator
Venison
Crawfish
Bison
Ostrich
Emu

Ok, so it's all meat, but still... :yum

[Zem-El Vymes]

I can also make ethnic delights if you are privy to that

[Dasquian Belargic]

Bison?! Holy moley!

[Zem-El Vymes]

Oh and it is great. Bison burgers will turn you off of beef for the rest of your days.

[Ilias Nytrau]

I <3 bison. So yummy.

[Dasquian Belargic]

I am imagining a bison burger to be huuuuuge. Mmmm.

[Zem-El Vymes]

Its not necessarily huge, although the one I had was rather large. The flavor is just vastly superior. It's also far leaner meat. It's lean like venison, but not as gamey.

You might as well post your likes and dislikes to give us an idea in advance.

[Dasquian Belargic]

I feel like I'm woefully inexperienced in all things food, so I don't know what to say. I'm game for trying pretty much anything, though.




:uhoh

[Zem-El Vymes]

Does spicy food agree with you? How are you for things like curry?

[Spectre]

OMG.. Yesssssss

Bison is so much better, not to mention better for you. I have a tendency to dry bison burgers out though so I have to be extremely careful. But verra tasety! :D

Haven't had croc yet, but I have had gator.

I'm game for trying most things. ^_^ Now stop making me hungry!

:lol

[Aretsuya]

The only weird thing I've ever eaten is snail. I was five and oblivious to what was in front of me and in a platter covered with garlic sauce. I mean, who can resist garlic sauce? I recall that they are rubberryyyyyy.

I avoid eating anything but chicken. Cow is probably the most outrageous in recent years.

Has anyone tried grass soup?

[Dasquian Belargic]

Does spicy food agree with you? How are you for things like curry?

I like curry, but I can't handle it too hot. Not without a couple of pints of water nearby.

[Park Kraken]

I am fond of spicy foods. On that note and as it relates to seafood, I have a loving passion for cajun blackened grouper or mahi-mahi. Although you have to be careful when going to a resturant for grouper, they just had a big crackdown here against resturants who were trying to pass off other fish as grouper. Tarpon is also delicious.

Never had lobster, always wanted to try it. Crab is...okay, I've never really developed much of a taste for it. Over favorite fish include Catfish, Cod, Gator tail, Gator fingers (a little boney though), Fried Shrimp, Popcorn Shrimp, I don't like the other kinds of shrimp, bluefin tuna, and thats about all I can think of atm. Oh, and Redfin, snook, trout, rainbow.

I don't like clams, oysters, sea snails, eel, shark, stringray, dolphin, etc.

Sushi - eew, no.

And that about wraps it up for seafood for me.

Ooh, my favorite sauce - tartar sauce. I love to make my own at home. Combined miracle whip and sweet relish into a bowl, add a touch of spicy mustard, stir together, and voila!

[Khendon Sevon]

Good sushi is lovely.

I'm very happy I live next to NYC. Amazing sushi here.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Sushi is wonderful. An eel roll I am convinced is made out of pure yum.

[Spectre]

Oh yes... Sushi is numminess. Especially with seaweed salad.

[Zem-El Vymes]

Eel & Albacore sushi are pure epic win. I'll eat other stuff sometimes, but I never eat sushi without both of those.