sevral smaller lobsters vs one big lobsters in the same weight in total?

[hae young]

whcih choice would be more wise when it comes to issue of how bigger the amount of meats i can extract from lobster, regardless of toughness issue of lobster flesh as it gets bigger and diffrent price measurment critera in its specific weight?

[Fritter]

Here's an article from the CIA I think you might find helpfull. These numbers are very accurate in my experience.

http://www.ciaprochef.com/mainelobste...

[Fritter]

I cooked four ME lobsters this evening totaling six pounds. They were a mix of M/F how ever they were soft shell. Net flesh weight after cooking and cleaning was 17 ounces.

[Phurstluv]

I guess it would also depend on if they're male or female lobsters. I think I would go with smaller lobsters = more tail meat in the end, and maybe some roe.

[monku]

Isn't fishing for female lobsters illegal?

[ScubaSteve]

no. only if they are 'eggers' with eggs attached to the underside of their tails. or, they have been notched in which a lobsterman will cut a V notch into an eggers tailfin.

[Phurstluv]

I know it can be in different states, but I seem to get a lot of lobsters with roe here in SoCal.

[ScubaSteve]

as long as it is roe which would be inside the lobster it's ok. once the eggs are espressed and attached to the underside of the tail you cannot harvest the lobster.

here's what it looks like once the eggs are out:
http://www.penobscoteast.org/images/l...

[Phurstluv]

Yes, I understand, the major retail grocery stores I get my lobster at , b/c I'm lucky and they have a great fish counter where I live & shop, the roe is only on the inside, you don't know what you have, until it's split. No illegal harvesting at Gelsons.

[hae young]

my local fish monger always tell me that i shouldnt buy female lobster because it has less meat inside shells than that of male one.

[Phurstluv]

That may be true. I would go with his/her recs over mine by all means!!

[ScubaSteve]

i think he's wrong on that. females have wider tails, for holding more eggs, and smaller claws.

many times i'll see a pair of big claws sticking out of a hole only to pull the bug out and find it to be a 'short' male lobster.

[alkapal]

just 'cause it's a friday, i'll put this out there:

steve, when you say "many times i'll see a pair of big claws sticking out of a hole only to pull the bug out and find it to be a 'short' male lobster."... i can tell you a lot of dating women feel the same way! {;^D.

[ScubaSteve]

nice.

;)

[hae young]

steve? in my local fish market, female lobsters are treated as inferior for cooking from the sellers. so they tend to bargain femal lobsters a little bit cheaper if they have them. they do not like the idea of eating roes and tamales and claim they dont want to buy female ones because they have less flesh and are disgusting.
ironically, in my location many people enjoy the tamales of local crabs that mixed with cooked sticky rice.

[ScubaSteve]

that is the complete opposite from all of my experiences.

here the females are more desirable for the greater meat content and some say sweeter flesh.

tomally eating is something that has all but disappeared around me. mostly due to the threats, both real and imagined, of Red Tide poisoning. but there was a time when all fishmongers who sold lobsters had a bowl of tomally on ice in their cases. i used to use the tomally mixed with butter salt, pepper and garlic as a sort of basting sauce for split grilled lobsters.

where are you?

[hae young]

i am now in Seoul, South Korea

[ScubaSteve]

could explain some things. what type of lobster are you seeing there? my comments are only expert for the New England or Homarus Americanus,

[hae young]

i just came back from fish market and the fish monger said lobsters from us contain less meats that that of canandian lobsters. so they say now they only sell canandian lobsters. i argued about the sameness betweeen canadian lobster and main lobster. but they keep claiming they used to sell the us lobsters but now they sell no longer.
BTW, i dont know what the us lobster means? is it like THE MAIN LOBSTER OR other lobsters in us. they do not even know where are the main in us.

[Phurstluv]

Maine, is our most eastern state, approaching the North Atlantic waters, bordering Canada and it's eastern provinces of Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia & Newfoundland, among others.

The lobster that is caught here is prized for it's incredible sweetness, due, in part, to the frigid waters it grows in up there. There is nothing else like it, IMO in taste.

There are other lobsters that grow in US coastal waters, but they are not Maine lobsters.

[ScubaSteve]

Maine and New England lobsters are the same species, there maybe some Terroir but i doubt you'd taste it. i chock it up to Regional Pride more than anything else.

[sbp]

If there is less meat in a female, it's a negligible difference. Besides, lobster roes is delicious. For your original question, I would think a 6lb lobster has less surface area of shell than 5 one-and-one-quarter lb lobsters. So more meat per pound. Right now at Fairway, ALL lobsters are $4,99 lb., and mostly they are big. :)

[Infomaniac]

Here is a link which will show a good guide to cooked lobster meat yeild. For me, I find I pay less per ounce of cooked meat with smaller lobsters, but I'm spending more time cooking than I would if I bought larger lobsters based on the current price range of $4.99 p/lb for small vs $6.99+ p/lb for large.

http://books.google.com/books?id=OFwu...

[alkapal]

hi hae young! making more lobster bisque? you must have a serious lobster supply available! i'm envious!