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When my wife and I were coming back from Maine last Monday, we found out that we could buy live lobsters and check them as luggage on the plane… So we did!
Pre-sunrise, Kennebunkport, ME
Roger at the Portland Lobster Pound was more than happy to help us out, so we got a couple 1 1/2 pounders in a box to go. We were told that these bugs would be fine for about 24 hours in the box… So off to the airport, a couple of hours early for our flight, since it was starting to rain anyway.
We get up to check our lobsters and luggage only to find out that weather between Portland and Dayton has caused cancellations, and that we’d been moved to a morning flight out. After checking for something sooner, we asked what our options were… And there was a 7:10 flight that would get us home at about 2 pm… I jumped on it, as this put us at 23 hours with the lobsters!
Cape Neddick Lighthouse, ME
With little further ado, we made it home just fine. Since it was a nice day, I decided to try a taste test between boiled and grilled lobster.
Ok, P eta isn’t going to like me for this post… One of the bugs was allowed to wander around the cutting board while I took pre-bath photos of it. I even tried to get it to stand on its head, but I didn’t try very hard, really. Off it went into a pot of water, but only after signing a modeling release…
(maybe he should have read the fine print…)
The other lobster was brought out to receive an even quicker end, at the point of a Shun chef’s knife. My wife took a bunch of photos that I put together in a little stop-action video showing how I cut the bug in half. Call it what you will, lobster snuff film, ocean creature horror movie, but it was delicious in the end!
To boil/steam the lobster, it’s simply timing; I steamed the lobster for about 21 minutes. Grilling is less about timing, though there is some of that. I put the halves meat side down, with the claws over the hottest part of the fire, for about 3-4 minutes, then turn over the halves and flip the claws until the meat in the halves looks done (opaque, just past translucent). As soon as I flipped them, I also added butter… I had no herbs, but I would typically do a basil butter for this.
Once they were done, we dined on lobster with a nice Viognier wine (one of the few whites I really enjoy). What a great meal!
The verdict? While I really like grilled lobster, when they’re this fresh, I prefer steamed or boiled… The stuff is just so good, there’s no reason to add the grilled flavor. I also don’t like using too much butter for dipping when it’s this good. If I lived in New England, I might do grilled now and then just for a difference, but, since I don’t get live lobster that often in Ohio, I’ll probably stick to mostly steamed.
If you want to invite me over for grilled lobster, though, I will accept!
May 5th, 2008 at 11:47 am
Fantastic Work. I tried grilling lobsters once.
Seemed counterproductive to suck the moistness out of the lobstermeat. That was the one and only time I’d ever done it.
May 5th, 2008 at 11:54 am
Joey,
I didn’t grill it quite enough to dry it out, meat side down, and the butter I added helped a bit more, too… it just seemed a pity to add another flavor (from the grilling) that just isn’t needed with the lobster, to me.
May 5th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
I have spent many summer vacations on the Maine coast and lobster dinner was always one of the highlights. Never thought of grilling it. It was interesting to see how you prepared it. We never buy it here in California but will be getting to Maine this summer for the first time in years — I can’t wait! Steamed with drawn butter, nothing better. The pre-sunrise photo is gorgeous.
May 5th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
Susan, what part of Maine are you going to? I like the butter thing, but find, when I’m eating really fresh lobster, I don’t bother with it much at all. Grilling is still fun, and I’m sure I’ll do it again sometime.
We really loved Maine along the coast… That shot was just ‘there’… I was on my way somewhere else, and I saw that and just was lucky.
May 6th, 2008 at 6:44 am
Curt, gave you a plug for this blog entry on chowhound, here-
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/516177
May 6th, 2008 at 9:47 pm
Great post and wonderful photos.
My wife and take the Route 1 drive almost yearly (of course, we live a bit closer to Maine), and I always have to have at least one lobster dinner.
I agree with you about steaming being the way to go. Try using Plugra butter on it sometime . . . OUT of this world!
May 7th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
Lobster is my absolute favorite food in the world!!!! Great pictures as usual.
I love it boiled with butter, didn’t try them on the grill yet, love the boiled ones so much, why should I
May 7th, 2008 at 3:25 pm
DocChuck, around Portland, Rt 9 seems a nicer drive, though it takes longer. And we wish we were a bit closer to Maine ourselves!
I love Plugra, but I haven’t used it for dipping lobster… I’ll have to try it.
Noskos, grilling is worth a try, but it’s a tough choice to make!
May 9th, 2008 at 4:57 am
Hi there, loving the blog. Lobster is also one of my favourite foods to cook with. One of my all time favourites was in Tabago keys which were amazing, the meat was so sweet. Keep up the good work on the blog!
May 9th, 2008 at 5:40 am
Never tried to grill lobsters before, I bet it adds some great flavor.
May 9th, 2008 at 8:02 am
Your post has me craving lobstah! We live in So. Cal. but we spend the month of July in coastal Massachusetts where we can pick up about 12 lobsters for $100 (via a restaurant owner that we know.) Can’t wait!!
I’m happy to see your post about grilling. I’ve never done it myself. Like you, I prefer it steamed with just a bit of butter. (and an occasional lobster roll too!)
May 9th, 2008 at 8:13 am
Niall, I guess I don’t usually think of lobsters and locations like that… Looks like a great place, though.
Marc, the flavor is good from the grill; if I had lobster more often, I’d probably do it now and then, but since I don’t have it often, I will most likely steam/boil the lobster.
RecipeGirl, sounds like a great price and good reason to indulge on vacation! Next time, take a couple of them and grill them, then let me hear what you think!
May 9th, 2008 at 8:29 am
Curt,
what I’d like to know is if it really is possible to have the lobster retain it’s succulent, dripping down your chin succulence by grilling them?
I find it difficult to comprehend that it wouldn’t dry it out without replacing those juices with butter, but then are you really tasting the lobster?
May 9th, 2008 at 8:48 am
Joey, All I can say is to try it. I do put butter on it while it’s cooking, but I don’t drown it.
Basically, it’s shell side down for most of the cook, so the fire isn’t really drying it out. it’s going to be different than steamed lobster, but it’s still very good. You get enough of them; try grilling just one.
May 9th, 2008 at 9:51 am
I’ll say one thing, the pictures you take are fantastic. Gorgeous. Love the rotating header photos especially.
May 9th, 2008 at 10:12 am
Thanks, Joey! I can’t claim the header rotation, but it is part of why I chose this theme.
May 27th, 2008 at 9:43 am
Not sure why ANYONE would take Rt. 9 when they could just as easily drive up Rt. 1 along the coast. Wells, York, and Ogunquit are so much nicer than Kennebunk or Kennebunkport anyway. My wife performs at a tiny caberet in Ogunquit every summer, so it seems like a second home to us.
Next time you go, take my advice. And have dinner at the Lobster Pound. Tell them you’re a friend of mine when you do.
And please DO NOT call them “Lobstahs.” Thanks.
May 27th, 2008 at 9:48 am
DocChuck, I wouldn’t call them lobstahs anywhere but here, actually.
As to Wells, York, etc… I have to differ with you; we spent some time along there, but we both preferred Kennebunkport. Rt 9 meanders more, and I found it more scenic than rt 1, especially coming from Portland.
I think Ogunquit looked great, too, though. While we liked driving along the coast in York, we just like the smaller feel of the area in Kennebunkport… But those differences are why all of those areas are so popular in the summer.
My wife and I were wondering over the weekend how much busier that whole area was on Memorial Day weekend than the last weekend in April.
May 27th, 2008 at 11:40 am
The whole area is very busy from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
The beach in Wells is spectacular, by the way.
Glad you had a good trip.