Lobster ( crayfish)

[MicHughV]

Thought I'd start another thread on lobster...spiny lobster....crayfish in some countries....or rock lobster...

I first starting diving for these 35 some years ago. My first attempts to get them were rather comical, and getting one was a hit or miss affair.
But over time, I learned all the tricks of the trade, thanks in most part due to a professional lobster diver showing me where they hide, etc.

I can't say how my lobsters I have harvested over the years, but it must surely number in the high 100's...or more probably 1,000's...so much so, that I've kinda ...but not completely lost my taste for them.

Like conch, I have experimented with different ways to prepare them besides the standard dip in drawn butter plate.

I welcome any comments and recipe's on these as i'm sure there is something I havn't tried to do yet.

[BlueH2Obound]

Boil, or broil lobster tails, dice to 1/4" size chunks. Take an avocado, split, remove seed, spoon diced lobster in, maybe sprinkle a little cheese, drizzle with balsamic vinegar, enjoy!

[MicHughV]

another one for my cook book...thnx

[PaulCrawhorn]

Ceviche

Asian, Thai spicy "salad" Yum Talay, with rice

Anglo: mayo based salad, I add Worcestershire, little relish or chopped pickle, little hotsauce

Med: creamy pasta sauce, twist! lemon zest added

from Martha: https://www.tiktok.com/@marthastewar...64860018740526

[MicHughV]

yummy !!

[garyfdl]

GREAT!

Now I'm hungry!

[Compass790]

Saw a crayboat skipper saying he liked to split the tail & smear sweet chilli sauce & grated cheese on top then grill till cheese melts. Forgot to try it last time we were out.
Yes cray catching is a long learning process, sometimes they can really surprise you. My brother saw a big one in a hole that was too small to get in easily & whilst he was struggling to get into position the cray began fanning its tail to stir up the silt on the bottom. It quickly reduced the vis to zero & he didnt get it. More crays need to learn those tricks as sadly the cray populations are falling catastrophically around here.

[Orion Jim]

Boil or broil lobster tails. Split a ripe avocado in half and remove the seed. Drizzle the lobster with drawn butter and fresh lemon juice. Enjoy the lobster tail and discard the lobster shell and the avocado.

[Bruce K]

Just eat it! No need for any cooking, smear the "coral" from inside the head on the tail meat, and eat it, fresh white bread!

[chris mac]

I treat it like chicken. (Except cooking time) lobster Alfredo, curried lobster, stir-fry, ect
Another favorite is make a beer batter with some Chile powder, sliced about 1/2 inch strips, and do a quick pan fry.
I've never been a fan of boiling any meat. There's so many better ways to cook

[Oeanda]

Wow - fond memories of SE Asia -thanks!
They usually outsmarted me

Grilled over the fire just enough to singe the outside then a dash of fish sauce and lime, hacked up and dipped with skewers in satay sauce, sweet chilli sauce (the kind they use on chicken). Beer or Mekong whisky. Rice. Fruit. Sun.

[RaymondR]

Split the tail and grill it smeared with butter with finely chopped garlic.

[GordMay]

Lobster Secret #1
Lobster Paste is ideal for spiking the flavour of lobster soups, chowders, seafood pasta dishes, and sandwiches.
Also good, as a spread/dip [perhaps, mixed with butter, sour cream and a few chopped chives (or mayonnaise)], on crackers, chips, or bread.

[MicHughV]

I invariable free dived for lobster...crayfish. In my heyday, I was quite good at it, managing to go down as deep as 25-30 odd feet and stay down.
But my efforts paled in comparison to a Bahamian lobster diver I knew. Prior to diving, he'd pound down a half bottle of rum, so that he could barely stand, but in the water he turned into a fish.

We'd find a reef, and I'd see nothing, but he'd go down and disappear inside some or other hole for what seemed like 5 minutes and pop back out with a half dozen supersize lobsters in each hand.

Thanks for all the recipe's, gonna try them all.

In all my years of diving only once did I come across a "lobster walk". I had heard about these, but had never seen it. Leaving the B'mas one year, I spotted a tiny isolated coral head. What the hell, I thought, I'll give it a quick look.

Once in the water, I was stunned to see this coral head, about the size of small Honda, covered in 100's of lobsters crawling over each other. Additionally, as far as the eye could see, were long formations of lobsters walking towards this coral head, coming from
all directions.
I had never seen anything like it.
Needless to say, it was easy pickings.

[RaymondR]

Whilst poking around in shallow water on a reef in the Houtman's Abrolhos off the coast of Western Australia I noticed a sink hole about 12' feet across. Our diver went down into it and said that it was like looking into a refrigerator with crayfish stacked side by side on the shelves.

We loaded up on crays from it on every cruise. Unfortunately by the end of the cruises we would be so tired of the crayfish diet that we would really look forward to a hamburger or pizza at the first port of call.