Lobster or Crab at Home vs Going Out to Eat?

Oh go out to eat.
Don't COOK yourself today!

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IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY! AND! ANNIVERSARY!!

GO! OUT!!! ENJOY!!!!!!

DO NOT forgo the lobster tails!! It's a special day!!!

Lobster isn't hard to cook - but it's got to be done right!! These links MIGHT help for the FUTURE - but TONIGHT??? GO OUT!!

http://homecooking.about.com/od/seafood/a/lobstertips.htm
http://www.cooking-lobster.com/cooking-lobster/index.html

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Oh my goodness, you'd better be going out and enjoying your day!!

As far as buying....it would be MUCH cheaper at home. That's here, and I do believe our food costs are much lower. I could get some lobster tails, grass fed steak, and all the sides for $50 here.

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Just go out and have a good time! I would feel horrible too if I bought it myself and then ruined it! But then I'm not a good cook, so that would be likely! LOL! Happy bday and anniv! Go out and enjoy!!!! =)

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Some people do cook lobster/crab at home.
I personally could not bring myself to drop a live lobster into boiling water.
I make my own shrimp bisque (make my own stock - boil up the shrimp shells for a day, etc) and it smells wonderful! - for the first day.
By day 3, the smell is getting kind of old and I can't wait to wipe everything down with lemon juice.
But the soup is FANTASTIC and worth the trouble for me every so often.
Maybe if you can cook it in the back yard it wouldn't be bad.
And just the tails would be easier.
Looks like you can get four 5-6 oz cold water lobster tails for $100 or eight for $160 (gee! Prices have gone up since the last time I looked!).

http://www.allenbrothers.com/allen-brothers-maine-and-can...

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/broiled-lobster-tails/

In general, crabs and lobsters are just messy - and I'd RATHER eat them out then fuss with them at home.

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What about ordering out at curbside to go? You can get the YUMMY steak and lobster (trying no to drool) - get any sides from a grocery store in disposable containers, buy a bottle of wine and chill at your house. Toss everything in the trash and enjoy your evening ;).

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The only time I tried to make a lobster dinner I ruined it by over cooking it.

I say GO OUT!

~This is why I prefer crab! Easy to make!!!

It's not hard to steam the lobsters (better method than boiling) so don't be intimidated. Undercook rather than overcook so they won't be tough. Pick frisky lobsters so you'll know they are more fresh. We do it at home since it is so much cheaper and we can enjoy the treat more often. When we are pressed for time, we have a local grocery store which knows how to do it right steam them for us while we shop (don't add any seasonings, just steam lobsters plain). No extra charge and the smell stays there. We like eating them at home because it's a fun, intimate, relaxed meal not to mention quick. A bit of a mess but not that bad. I gather all of the lobster trash and seal it in a large bag (double or triple bag). I try to squash the bag as small as possible and then I set it in the freezer until trash day. I lay out several layers of newspaper on top of an old table cloth on the table. I put out large plastic platters for each person's lobster with sides of melted butter in small bowls. A roll of paper towels, wedges of lemons, and several hand towels for when the paper towels aren't enough. Finally set out small fork/seafood forks and crackers. In a pinch we have used actual pliers. Necessity is the mother of invention when it comes to a lobster dinner. We crack open a nice white wine and sit down to meander through the feast. Lobster or crab makes one heck of a Thanksgiving dinner I might add. :)

At home you do the following (plenty of directions on the internet; these are close to what we do):

Fill a large pot with about 2 inches of water. Add 2 tablespoons of salt for each quart of water (sea salt is best). Bring the water to a rolling boil, and put in lobsters, one at a time. ( Feel free to use a steaming rack to place the lobsters on or just add directly to the pot.) Bring water to a rolling boil over high heat. Place lobsters in the pot (head first), cover tightly, return to a boil as quickly as possible and start counting the time.

Steam a lobster for 8 minutes per pound, for the first pound. Add 3 minutes per pound for each additional pound thereafter. See chart below for approximate cooking times. Regulate the heat if the froth starts to bubble over.

Steaming Lobster-Cooking Times
Lobster Weight: Cooking Time
1-1/4 lbs. 7-8 minutes
1-1/2 lb. 8-10 minutes
2 lbs. 11-12 minutes
2-1/2-3 lb. 12-14 minutes
5 lb. 20-22 minutes

Lobsters are done when the outer shell is bright red and when the meat is white, not opaque. Again, DO NOT overcook your lobsters. Carefully remove lobsters from the pot with tongs. Be careful, they are very hot. Note: Your lobsters will continue to cook a little after you take them out of the pot. To stop the cooking process, place your steamed lobsters in a bowl of ice before cracking. Now just melt the butter. You can get fancy and whisk in a little lemon juice in your butter.

You should learn how to make it if it is your favorite dish; just do it on some other day which is not your birthday! If you don't try it, you will never know! A experienced fish market person would certainly give you good tips; they want your return business!

I do agree with everyone and go out and eat on these two very special events!!!

However, I do understand what you are saying. I personally would much rather eat my husband's steak than at a restaurant, he's great chef and it is so much cheaper to buy and cook at home. Yes there is a mess afterwards, but the taste is so much better. I tell my husband I'm so big because of his cooking, he's great! I've only cooked whole lobster once (it was frozen, never done a live one and don't think I could do that.) I know it's more work on crab legs, but it's worth it to me, found out I don't like lobster as much as crab meat...

I would say if you don't mind the money to try it at home then go for it. You can't really mess up a steak unless you burn it. So, if you got one tail and just tried it then you're not out a lot of money but still have a wonderful meal.

I would also think about trying to learn to cook it when you can go catch some yourself or go to a cookout with some friends who know how to do it.

Learning a new skill is always a good thing.

I do seafood at home... Here... It's about 1/5th the cost of going out.

I'll save me'self some time, because there are GREAT picture by picture demos on boiling lobsters.

For the lightly charred tail, it's scissor the tail shell, pop out, brush with butter, and place under a preheated broiler for 10-30 SECONDS. Just keep the door open and and watch it until its charred the way you like.

Buy from a fish market. Chain stores 'starve' their shellfish, so they're not as good as regularly fed ones from fish markets or fresh flown (that restaurants serve).

Ahem... When you buy your own, you also get the CLAWS.

Go out and enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Maybe you could go to a close by town and find a cheaper place :) I love to search and find coupons and deals when we go out. Our kids get us gift cards for Red Lobster so we go when we have those to save money. I don't really have any Lobster recipes other than lobster fondue that we loved from Red Lobster. Happy Birthday and Happy Anniversary whatever you do I know you will have fun.