Recipes for a Mini-Season Feast

Grilled Lobster Tails

Grilled lobster tails are a great way to mix it up from the normal steam bath that tails typically get.

Ingredients

1. Tails
2. Melted Butter
3. Garlic
4. Fresh Lime
5. Salt
6. Pepper

Directions

Follow instructions on how to de-shell the lobster. Once you have the tails out of the shell get a nice hot grill. We will be cooking the tails directly on the fire.

Mince and smash fresh garlic and add it to a tablespoon or two of butter. Melt the butter with the garlic in it.

Brush both sides of the tails with the Garlic butter. Add a small amount of salt and pepper to taste (remember most butter has salt in it and if the tails are fresh they just came out of salt water).

Place the tail meat directly on the HOT fire. Cook for about 1-2 minutes and flip. Squeeze a little lime juice on the tails. Cook for another 1-2 minutes or until the tail has a little color on it.

RECIPES FOR A MINI-SEASON FEAST

Lobster Stuffed Twice Baked Potatoes

Probably the most popular side dish at our annual lobster feast.

Ingredients

     1.     Potatoes (1 per person)

     2.     Lobster (1 tail per 2 whole potatoes)

     3.     Chives

     4.     Butter (1 Tablespoon/potato)

     5.     Sour Cream (to taste)

     6.     Milk (if you feel like being healthy)

     7.     Real Bacon Bits (Don't go Bacos)

     8.     Salt

     9.     Pepper

     10.   Shredded cheddar cheese (one bag usually does 4-5 potatoes)

Directions

Follow the instructions of how to de-shell the lobster tails. You will want to cook the lobster almost all the way through (allow a good 4-5 minutes of steaming for fresh tails).

Bake the Potatoes in an oven @ 400 degrees (the higher temp allows for a crispier skin) until you can easily put a fork into them.

Once the potatoes are finished take them out of the oven (you can let them cool if you want). Cut the potatoes in half (long ways) and using a spoon empty the white into a bowl.

To the bowl add half of your cheese and all the butter. Mash & add Sour - Cream and Milk until you have a fairly smooth consistency (think mashed potatoes). Add Bacon, half your chives, salt & pepper (go light here as you will add a little more later). Mix well

Chop Lobster into bite-sized pieces. Add lobster to bowl. Mix

Re-fill skins with filling (don't be afraid to over-stuff).

Top with remaining cheese & chives. Crack sea-salt and pepper on top.

Place back into the oven @ 400 for 5-10 minutes or until cheese is fully melted.

RECIPES FOR A MINI SEASON FEAST

Sauteed Lobster Bites

Like a Meal we will start off with the appetizer. This recipe has been a staple from the beginning of our lobster mini season trips.

Ingredients

1. 3 Lobster tails
   
2. 2 tblsp Butter
3. 1 Fresh Lime
4. Salt
5. Pepper
6. Garlic

Directions

Follow the instructions here to de-shell the bugs. You do not need to cook the lobster all the way through. They should be raw in the middle when you finish de-shelling them.

Once de-shelled cut the partially cooked lobster into bite sized pieces. In a saute pan add the butter and garlic, bring the pan to a Medium high heat then add the lobster. Season the lobster with Salt and Cracked pepper to taste.

Cook the lobster for about 2-3 minutes (let it get a little brown on the outsides) then squeeze the lime juice over it while it is still cooking.

Cook for another 1-2 minutes (total cook time will depend on how well done the lobster was when you de-shelled it).

Take the lobster out of the pan, you can pour the butter/lime sauce that is in the pan over the top if you so choose.

Eat one before you tell anyone they are done because the taste awesome and will go quickly, I always do.

Serve with your favorite beverage, I recommend Busch Light.

RECIPES FOR A MINI-SEASON FEAST

De-Shelling the Lobster

Every year after our big catch we cook up a gigantic feast where every course has Florida Lobster in it. The menu has changed a bit over the years but it is still on of the highlights of the trip. I will eventually try and post the recipe's for all of the lobster dishes we make. I do need to add a quick disclaimer though. I have never actually written these recipe's down or actually measured what I am putting into the dishes. I usually do it by feel (and tasting and adjusting) but I will do my best to transfer them to directions that people can follow.

To kick us off I am going to describe how we de-shell the lobster tails. This is a key step in a lot of the recipe's as the majority of them call for the tail meat.

What You'll need: A Steamer, or any other make shift steaming mechanism, a knifewrench (or any other knife capable of butterflying a lobster tail), lobster tails, fork, cutting board, water.

1. Get water boiling and steam going
   
2. Put whole tails into the steamer, allow to steam for 1-2 minutes (we do not want to cook the tail all the way through unless otherwise instructed)
   
3. Remove tails (you probably want to use a towel or something to get them out of the steamer as they will be hot.
4. Flip the tails so the underside is up. Using your knifewrench or other cutting device butterfly the tails down the middle. The underside of the tail is much softer and thus much easier to make the cut on. After The lobster meat should be raw in the middle still.
   
5. Place the tail meat side down on the cutting board and jam the fork into it as far as you can. With your hand peel the shell off. It should come out extremely easily.

It is much easier to take the meat out of the shell if the outside has been slightly cooked. If you try and take the meat out of the tail while it is still 100% uncooked you tend to lose a lot of meat and make the task much, much more difficult. Once you have the meat out of the shell there are a ton of ways you can prepare it.

An important key to this method is not to over-cook the lobster. Most of the recipes we use the de-shelled meat for require further cooking so if you over cook it here you will end up with tough, overcooked lobster.

Look for future recipe's and tips for how to use the now de-shelled lobster meat in future posts.