Lobster Lust

My husband and I have just returned from a week’s scuba diving in the Grenadines where we saw Humm-Vee sized lobsters skulking in the depths. I became almost obsessed, leering into the crevasses where those beauties were attempting to squeeze their big fat derrières. Visions of succulent lime wedges and garlic butter blurred my vision! I have heard mentioned something about a lobster stick and a floaty net to contain the bootie. I know nothing about hunting lobs. What advice would anyone be willing to share?

Hey Annette,

Were you on a Peter Hughes trip?

Jason

Sounds like you were diving in a marine sanctuary.
Anyway, the next time one of those critters gets wound up in your gear, here's another good way to dispose of it:


This recipe is sort of a cross between ravioli and oriental-style dumplings.
You can get fancier & make your own sauce, but this is about as quick as you can get & works very nicely.

Lobster Ravioli

1 jar alfredo sauce
1 package (50 sheets) won ton skins
1 tbs corn starch, made into a thin paste

for the filling:
Juice from 1/2 small lime, about 1 tbs
1 clove garlic, minced
1 shallot, minced
3 smaller bug tails (about 1 lb meat)
1/3 cup ricotta
Salt & pepper to taste, and/or 1/8 tsp Old Bay or Creole seasoning
---------------

Toss all the filling materials except meat into food processor & blend thoroughly. Add bug meat & chop just enough to blend.

Lay out won tons & drop about 1 tsp of filling in center of each, brush cornstarch paste on edges & fold into a triangle. Pull the 2 corners of the long side & pinch
together.

Steam for 8 - 12 minutes or 'till done. Plate up & drizzle a little warm alfredo sauce on top. May be served on a small bed of fettuchini or lettuce.

The only way to cook lobster is to toss it into a pot and boil it. Then, tear the critter apart with your bare hands. Leave all those spices out of it. Dip each succulent morsel in garlic butter and enjoy.

Any other way ruins the wonderful lobster flavor.

Hi Jason, we were in Bequia (St.Vincent and the Grenadines) this X-mas with our middlest daughter (26) and her significant other for a week of scuba diving. We used “Dive Bequia” services for the second time and had more fun than mere mortals should be allowed to have. We are usually sailing when we visit the Grenadines.

Hi Bob3, You’re a “Food-ie” aren’t you. Terriffic recipe. ThanXXX! I’m going to go out this afternoon and surf the meat department in earnest. This Lob Ravioli recipe of yours sounds too good to pass up. I live in Santa Fe, New Mexico and we CAN find seafood, fresh is questionable, frozen is more likely. Hey, I made a seafood paella (Portugese rice dish) the other night, shrimp and sea scallops. Yum City! To start with it called for “fish stock”. I thumbed through the cookbook to the “broths and stocks” section and almost pee-ed my pants giggling! It called for something like a gallon of water, several lbs of fish heads, a half ton of squid, buckets of clams and muscles and half whale!! Not that I doubt that this concoction would make a pretty fair tasting fish stock, I thought perhaps I could hurry the dinner process along if I substituted some of the ingredients. I used Hon-Dashi (a Japanese bonito-fish stock, similar to bouillon granules) and dry white wine. Hell, I’m 51 years old. Who knows how much longer I’m gonna live! I couldn’t wait for those little squid legs to boil down enough to make stock for dinner!

Hi Aaron, I agree with your taste buds! Lobster has a wonderfully delicate flavor. While I was in St. Vincent at the Lime-N-Pub restaurant I ordered grilled Lob for supper. You are supposed to accompany the waiter to the Lob pool and select your very own beastie. Then they disappear and cook ‘im up. It’s then served on your plate having been cut in half lengthwise. Interesting! I asked if I could see how they did this cutting thing. I was escorted deep into the bowels of the kitchen and witnessed the murder! Eeeww! Oh well, I guess being at the top of the food chain is a good thing! They put the lob into at what looked like a huge guillotine type paper cutter and split him down the center. I tell this story because I just don’t think I can put a living creature (even if he is a marine bug!) into a pot of boiling water to kill him. However, I CAN chop his head off, cook him up and eat him toes, eyeballs, bellybutton and all!

AAron, Yup, the best way to cook the critters is to boil them in seawater, dip in butter w/a hint of garlic & lime.
However, when the season opener rolls around, you get tired of the same old thing every day & next thing ya know the bugs wind up in some strange places, like omlets, pizza, tacos, etc.
I've even made lobster hot dogs, sorta like the classic Lobster Roll seen all over Maine.

Too many bugs: http://www.scubadiving.com/members/photogalleries.php?s=78

Recipes: http://www.angelfire.com/ca/divers3/food.html
http://diver.net/seahunt/d_recipe.htm

...on local regs, seasons, etc. If they're legal, they're tasty, though!





Shut up and Dive!

Hi Annette, I was just checking around and came across your post. My wife and I are going sailing in St. Vincent and the Grenadines (and maybe St. Lucia) for two weeks with two other couples. This will be our first trip to SVG and would appreciate any "must dos" and "must miss" suggestions you may have, although I expect there will be more of the former! We're planning to dive twice during the first week, probably on Bequia and Canouan and see how things play out from there. We're sailing a '38 catamaran charter from SailTMM and can't wait. Also, any recommendations on specific dives you'd recommend, or dive operators you like would be welcome. Regards, Keith