351823 Sat Dec 16 01:11:32 -0800 2006 27 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 2104313 I would like to serve lobster for a special dinner for my parents. However, which is better tasting? Maine Lobsters or Spiny Lobsters? Sat Dec 16 01:11:32 -0800 2006 60061 HotChoc 1 2104324 I cannot say which taste better...but I can comment a bit on how you want to prepare and serve them. During the season we love the Spiny lobsters, really just big tails, which we have split and then grill and baste with garlic/butter..and serve in the classic Baja way with beans, rice, tortillas, salsas, salads, etc. How do you plan to prepare whatever you buy, and what do you want to serve with them? This will help you decide perhaps. Sat Dec 16 01:19:03 -0800 2006 2104313 23350 Jesdamala 1 2104357 Good point. I didn't even think about that. I was going to do the classic, boiled lobster w/ melted butter. I'm a 28 year-old bachelor, just now learning how to actually cook and trying to show my parents I've grown up a bit. :) I might get ambitous and try doing the splitting, grilling, garlic/butter thing. Sounds great. Sat Dec 16 01:39:18 -0800 2006 2104313 60061 HotChoc 2 2104384 You don't say where you live, but you can buy fresh Spiny lobsters and ask they be cleaned and split. Some places in San Diego sell them already cooked, which means they simply have to be finished on the grill...I prefer to get raw, cleaned, split and then steam for a few minutes and finsh on the grill. The rice/beans/salsas can easily be purchased at a great Mexican deli or take out and salsas bought other places as well, as well as some fabulous tortillas from, say, Trader Joe's. This is not an elegant meal, but yummy! Sat Dec 16 01:55:37 -0800 2006 2104357 23350 Jesdamala 1 2105075 I goota take a side here! Maine lobster! Maine Lobster! Maine Lobster! Boiling is extremely easy and all you need is some drawn butter and maybe a baked potato! Steaming may be a little more involved but I would recommend it! I've had great success with these guys. http://www.thelobsternet.com/lilobs.html Sat Dec 16 14:08:25 -0800 2006 2104313 11562 Hue 1 2105077 Maine lobster--my experience you get more meat with the Maine--I like it broiled with drawn butter and lemon on the side-enjoy Sat Dec 16 14:10:12 -0800 2006 2104313 55914 marlie202 1 2105120 If you serve Maine lobster (boiled or steamed) with drawn butter -- are you and your folks comfortable with disassembling them? Do you have nutcrackers or something to get into them? Again, where you buy them can help you out. (I'm just speaking from the experience of being a daughter of New England married into a NJ family -- we spent a week last summer with them at the Jersey shore, and for our last night together, MIL went out and bought Maine lobsters -- ordered them from the fish market and said they'd steam them for us (she knew we had no lobster pots at the house). I asked about nutcrackers, picks, etc., and she hadn't thought of that -- they'd only eaten them in restaurants that split the claws and tails for you. Turned out this market did that for us, too, but I ended up disassembling most of them.) Sat Dec 16 14:43:54 -0800 2006 2104313 53971 momjamin 1 2105240 From my experience "which tastes better" will depend on who you ask. New Englanders/North Easternerss will pretty much ALWAYS say Maine lobster. Maine Lobster is supposed to be a little sweeter than spiny/rock lobster. I was unable to really notice that much of a difference when tasting them side by side. But I have also been told that method of preparation (steaming vs. boiling) tends to make a huge difference. Steaming is supposed to bring out the natural flavor more than boiling. I would focus more on the presentation aspect. Maine lobster looks far more impressive if you are looking to present them in shell (and as marlie202 says, there is more meat). If you are going to do just tails, or serve completely disassembled, get whichever is available and fits in your budget. Sat Dec 16 15:56:03 -0800 2006 2104313 15747 djohnson22 1 2106014 Maine lobster. Hands down. Steamed with drawn butter. I've eaten many spinys in my day and I don't think they compare in either flavor or texture. But that's the way I feel about Maryland blues vs. Dungeness crabs too. Sat Dec 16 22:33:11 -0800 2006 2104313 13599 Ellen 2 2106279 I agree with you on both and I'm from land-locked Toronto. Sun Dec 17 00:47:48 -0800 2006 2106014 24055 Atahualpa 1 2106331 No brainer... MAINE Lobster. One of life's great pleasures. Sun Dec 17 01:21:39 -0800 2006 2104313 27914 WineTravel 1 2106337 No question. Maine lobster. No comparison. You're a good kid, by the way. Sun Dec 17 01:27:27 -0800 2006 2104313 54991 Atlantis 1 2106344 Here in Southern California it is local spiny lobster season. I have had one or more a week in the last month and I have to go with snapping fresh local versus shipped in Maine. I find the meat more firm, but these puppies are fat and loaded with meat. The brawny kid behind the counter can barely maneuver them into the steaming bag cuz they are so active. However, you know your parents, and their preferences so I would go with your instinct. Good luck. (PS: a nice tartly dressed salad and great fresh bread would be a great simple but classic meal)Please report back- amybe under the Home Cooking thread Sun Dec 17 01:33:30 -0800 2006 2104313 17682 torty 2 2107501 Yay! Finally someone from the West Coast chimed in. I prefer spiny lobster as well, but agree that that's probably because I live in California. Sun Dec 17 19:03:47 -0800 2006 2106344 11577 Pei 2 2133048 I always try to go with local. I am recent to SoCal (Orange County) and I have not been able to find local lobster in the markets. Can anyone be so kind as to point out a few good places to buy now that they are in season? Thanks!! Thu Dec 28 03:29:03 -0800 2006 2106344 62369 stuffed 1 2106866 Go with whatever is local and in season. BTW, can you even get spiny lobster anywhere but SoCal? I haven't seen it in stores here in the Bay Area. Sun Dec 17 10:55:18 -0800 2006 2104313 13619 Sharuf 1 2108105 I think the local thing is the best bet. Personally I prefer Maine lobsters and get the spiny in the Carib even though the Maine ones are available. Again, following the local theme. Still, all things being equal I prefer the Maine ones since I feel the tails on the spiny lobsters are a bit more tough, although that can vary with preparation method and experience of the cook. Also with the Maine ones, you get all the other acoutrements, such as the claws and legs, which in my opinion are much better than the tale. I notice you mention boiling the lobsters. I would highly recommend never boiling them. After all that's how you make soup and a good bit of the flavour goes out of the lobster into the water. Steam them and don't let anyone tell you special lobster pots are needed. Alton Brown the multitasker would flip over that one. Just get a big pot, crumble up some aluminum foil in the bottom, put in enough water to keep the steam going for 20 mins or so. Once the water is boiling, pop in the lobsters, cover, wait 15 - 20 mins and pull them out. As Jamey Oliver would say, "Easy peasy, Bob's your uncle" you've got great tasting seafood. Good Luck Sun Dec 17 23:57:06 -0800 2006 2104313 18057 Jambalaya 1 2113112 The only spiny lobsters I have eaten were in Belize, and I suspect they were pre-frozen tails, so maybe my experience is not optimum. I found them very disappointing, tougher that Maines, with a thick skin aroudn the flesh, and not as sweet. Maine all the way for me. Tue Dec 19 17:36:26 -0800 2006 2104313 18154 prunefeet 2 2116524 The most memorable spiny lobster I ever ate was in a Mexican fishing village. They caught some, then cooked them for us, then cooled then and served them with mayo. I dined under a thatched roof pavilion right at the beach, with sound effects from the surf and the palm trees. I've never had a fresh-from-the-ocean Atlantic lobster, but I imagine it might be as good. Wed Dec 20 17:19:29 -0800 2006 2113112 13619 Sharuf 1 2113244 One of the joys of the Maine (North Atlantic/Homard) is the meat in the claws and joints. I know that many folks think of the tail as the primary meat from a lobster, but the claws and joints are tastier, the tail is bland by comparison. Having said that, local and fresh is undoubtedly the best for any shellfish. The best of each is always where it's indigeneous - best stone crab claws are in Florida, dungeness in San Francisco, blue-points in Maryland - closest to fresh king I had was in Tacoma, WA. Best crab and lobster (spiny, I'm sure) sashimi was in a small place near Yokosuka. You can get around the need for special utensils if you let the lobster cool, and take them apart on the cutting board before you serve them. Take your cleaver or nice heavy chefs knife and split the claws and knuckles, snap off the whole tail, further snap the tail end and push the meat through, or take your knife and split the tail. I throw the head on the plate in tact so people can rip it open and go for the tomalley. Real lobster folks will break off the smaller legs and use their teeth to suck the meat out... (Distribute bibs - This is the reason why Maine lobsters are not white-linen tablecoth restaurant fodder.) Tue Dec 19 18:14:22 -0800 2006 2104313 10312 applehome 2 2113368 I love the whole messy process. Don't forget the meat in the body, there is plenty there. And yes, suck those little legs!! I had a boyfriend who could get meat out of the antennae, I swear!! I'm not lying. He was a talented boy. Tue Dec 19 18:48:54 -0800 2006 2113244 18154 prunefeet 1 2113459 Maine, imo, absolutely taste much better and no matter where you are, if you go to a good fishmonger, they should be flying them in daily or very frequently and as they must be kept alive, they will be fresh. I'm from the Northeast (NY) and only ate Maine lobster then lived in Florida and had local spiny and there was no comparison. Even when in Florida, the local spiny lobster in Miami didn't compare to the Maine lobster that was flown in. Maine: sweeter and the other posters are right - some of the best meat is in the claws, knuckles and even the small legs. Worth the work and mess. Tue Dec 19 19:12:40 -0800 2006 2104313 48135 laylag 1 2117370 Local and fresh is definitely the way to go, but there are differences between Maine and spiny, too. The Maine lobster's claws seem like the sweetest lobster meat of all to me. But the spiny lobster has a meatier and better-tasting tail. I'll take the spiny any day. Wed Dec 20 20:44:26 -0800 2006 2104313 23430 Mr. Cookie 1 2117749 Maine Lobster makes a more impressive presentation and tends to have more meat. The meat is also a bit sweeter, but that is up for debate. I personally am a fan of boiling because while it can extract some flavor into the water, it actually allows you to *impart* flavor to the lobster meat. Place a cheese cloth filled with the following seasoning into the water and simmer with a good bit of salt for a half hour before adding the lobster. (6 Black Peppercorns, 8 Cloves, 8 Allspice, 1 tsp dried Thyme, 1 tsp dry Mustard, 1 tsp Celery Seed, 1 Tbsp Cayenne. If you can get them, steamers make an excellent first course w/ lobster. Steam them with a bottle of beer (cheaper the better), onion slices, and some smashed garlic cloves. Serve with drawn butter and a cup of the "broth" to wash the sand off the steamers before eating. If these are too expensive, steam some mussles in the same way but substitute white wine & a little lemon juice for the beer....YUM! Wed Dec 20 22:20:02 -0800 2006 2104313 19752 InmanSQ Girl 2 2119316 This is one of those ultimate meals, fresh fresh seafood unadorned by too many extraneous flavors. I LOVE steamers and I LOVE maine lobster. Thu Dec 21 14:44:29 -0800 2006 2117749 18154 prunefeet 3 2119410 A bucket of steamers, a big lobster, a mug of beer, maybe an ear of sweet corn...that's living! Thu Dec 21 15:14:54 -0800 2006 2119316 49959 thegolferbitch 4 2127913 Right on!! Mon Dec 25 18:49:23 -0800 2006 2119410 18154 prunefeet 1 2127922 I grew up in Connecticut with family vacations up and down the coast. Maine lobsters are the best, whole, steamed or boiled, with a nutcracker and lobster pick as accessories -- if your parents up are for that. Most people dip pieces into drawn sweet butter, but I don't like anything that competes with the lobster meat. Mon Dec 25 18:52:54 -0800 2006 2104313 54833 ClaireWalter