# My birthday dinner



## Startingover (Apr 18, 2012)

First time cooking these at home. A good sale this week.

tasted wonderful but stuck to the bottom of the shell. When I called to check price they quoted me for ‘spiney’ lobster tails. Not sure what those are. Maybe thats why they stuck?

in restaurants the meat pops up out of the shell.


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## Nik333 (Mar 1, 2015)

I found this article that does explain a lot about lobsters. We grew up cooking lobster at home, then in Hawaii we caught Spiny or Slipper lobsters. I can't say I found much difference.

"We talk about the factories overseas and people taking our jobs. But the truth is that Americans want cheaper stuff," he says. "That means Maine lobsters instead of California ones because Maine lobsters are cheaper."









Why We Don’t Eat California Spiny Lobsters (Even Though They Taste Better)


California spiny lobsters lack the pincers typical of Maine lobsters and are sweeter than their East Coast counterparts—but Americans are lucky if they ever find them on their dinner plates.




www.vice.com





I was going to tell the writer my trick for coaxing lobsters out of the rocks, but, when I saw the photo of how many he had, I decided not to.









American lobster







en.wikipedia.org


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## Startingover (Apr 18, 2012)

Nik333 said:


> I found this article that does explain a lot about lobsters. We grew up cooking lobster at home, then in Hawaii we caught Spiny or Slipper lobsters. I can't say I found much difference.
> 
> "We talk about the factories overseas and people taking our jobs. But the truth is that Americans want cheaper stuff," he says. "That means Maine lobsters instead of California ones because Maine lobsters are cheaper."
> 
> ...


Thanks. I wondered if ‘spiney’ was certain area. Since we were at home I ended up breaking my shell away, after eating the big pieces, and used my fingers to pull little pieces of lobster stuck to bottom of shell.


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## djlandkpl (Jan 29, 2013)

If the tails were frozen, it makes the meat stick to the shell.


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## Startingover (Apr 18, 2012)

djlandkpl said:


> If the tails were frozen, it makes the meat stick to the shell.


YES, these were “previously frozen”. Daughter is Going to ask, if by any chance, they have any at the sale price ($9 ) that are still frozen so we could buy ahead of time for a special occasion


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## Old Thomas (Nov 28, 2019)

Happy Birthday.


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## Two Knots (Nov 12, 2011)

Happy Birthday!


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## Colbyt (Jan 27, 2014)

Happy Birthday !



Startingover said:


> First time cooking these at home. A good sale this week.
> 
> tasted wonderful but stuck to the bottom of the shell. When I called to check price they quoted me for ‘spiney’ lobster tails. Not sure what those are. Maybe thats why they stuck?
> 
> in restaurants the meat pops up out of the shell.


Because someone in the kitchen took the time to work it out and lay it on top. 

There are several different ways to cook these big crawdads.The method that works best for me is to mostly steam them in the shell, pop them out, brush with butter and and broil for just a second to give some color.


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## J. V. (Jun 1, 2007)

The spiny lobster is a warm water lobster and Maine lobsters are cold water lobsters. Maine lobsters have claws where the spiny lobster has none.
The reason they come out of the shell in restaurants is because they loosen the tail meat up and away from the shell before cooking.

Oh! Happy Birthday!


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## Nik333 (Mar 1, 2015)

J. V. said:


> The spiny lobster is a warm water lobster and Maine lobsters are cold water lobsters. Maine lobsters have claws where the spiny lobster has none.
> The reason they come out of the shell in restaurants is because they loosen the tail meat up and away from the shell before cooking.
> 
> Oh! Happy Birthday!


Just FYI,



https://www.fleetscience.org/phenomena/pacific-coast-colder-atlantic-coast



I know a lot of articles say it's warm, but, you might be surprised how cold Hawaiian waters are.


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## BigJim (Sep 2, 2008)

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday, mine was two days ago.


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## Startingover (Apr 18, 2012)

BigJim said:


> Is today your birthday? Happy birthday, mine was two days ago.


Thank you! Yesterday the 18th. Belated Happy Birthday to you. Not really belated because we celebrate all week. We call it a “birthday week”. Which means indulging in too much food.


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## J. V. (Jun 1, 2007)

Nik333 said:


> Just FYI,
> 
> 
> https://www.fleetscience.org/phenomena/pacific-coast-colder-atlantic-coast
> ...


I'm sure they are. But I have never had a Hawaiian lobster. I have had Maine Lobster and warm water (Caribbean) lobster.


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## Nik333 (Mar 1, 2015)

J. V. said:


> The spiny lobster is a warm water lobster . . .


I'm confused by this? That's why I put up the link. I caught spiny lobsters.

Edit - They must have different species of spiny lobsters. I don't think I've ever read such confusing articles on the Internet with contradicting info, as those about lobster.




  








  








  








  







The banded spiny lobster is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands, typically found at depths of a few feet to at least 600 feet. Lobsters are known in Hawaiian as ula. They were also prized as food and were eaten raw, cooked or partly decomposed. Lobsters were sometimes substituted for pigs in sacrifices to the gods.
*Spiny Lobster - Maui Ocean Center*

There's a Florida spiny lobster, too.









<i>Panulirus</i>







en.wikipedia.org


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## Two Knots (Nov 12, 2011)

I’ve only had Long Island lobsters.


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## Nik333 (Mar 1, 2015)

Two Knots said:


> I’ve only had Long Island lobsters.


I found this. So sad! I guess they have lobster farms now.








The mysterious case of Long Island Sound’s disappearing lobsters - WHYY


As the waters off of Long Island Sound warm, the lobsters are going elsewhere, and the men who made their living fishing them out of the sea are forced to change their way of life.




whyy.org





I take a special interest in lobsters because as the big fishing boats would come into port, the female lobsters would scratch their sides and produce eggs. The fishermen had to throw the lobsters with eggs overboard. That's why there are so many in the water next to one port. You can hear them talking while you dive. 😊


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