T&T: Best Lobstah in Maine

[Milt Baker]

Georgs,

For the best lobstah in Maine, buy it right from the lobster boat--flag a
lobsterman down while he's working his pots and tell him what you want.  That
way you are assured of getting the freshest ones available--literally right
out of the pot!  My preference is for "soft shell" lobsters, the ones that
have recently shed and whose shells are beginning to harden up; they sell for
less than the hard shell variety and the meat is sweeter, but there' less of
it because they haven't yet grown into the new shell.  We cooked up soft shell
six "chix", chicken lobsters (one pounders), yesterday and it yielded 1 1/2
pounds of meat.  Cooking six soft shell 1 1/2 pounders yields about 2 pounds.
Hard shell lobsters yield more meat per crustacean but the meat is not as
sweet, they are more expensive, and they're harder to pick out.  For the
tenderest meat, don't boil the lobster but steam it--no more than 20 minutes
for a 1 1/2 pound lobster. (The experts say the lobsters have no brains and
therefore do not suffer when boiled or steamed, but they don't seem a but
happy about being steamed or boiled!)

If you're not willing to do it yourself, among the tastiest lobsters in the SW
Harbor area we've had have come from:

--Lundt's Lobster Pound, Frenchboro.

--Underwater Taxi, Burnt Coat Harbor, Swans Island. (Or you can have Kevin,
the guy who collects for the (green) moorings in Burnt Coat, bring you a
complete lobster dinner, delivered right to your boat.  Delicious!)

--Abel's Lobster Pound, Somes Sound.

--Thurston's Lobster Pound, Bernard.

Good eating,

--Milt Baker, N47 Bluewater, SW Harbor, ME