Thanks to successful efforts to repopulate lobster fisheries and declining demand for luxury items, the price of lobster has now hit a 25-year low. Dinner for two may still cost you $30, but that's better than the $45 it was last year. I know, it's not exactly "local food," but at least it's a sustainable resource! The New York Times has a full story complete with recipe.
Lobster a la NYTimes
After freezing and slicing up my lobsters, I ran them under the broiler. My plan was to serve them with garlic oil. But their scarlet hue reminded me of blackened redfish. Making a vibrant, spicy Cajun butter to souse the lobster seemed like a good idea.
As Mr. Corson promised, the lobster meat cooked up tender yet firm, and the spicy butter gave it a fiery kick without diminishing its sweetness.
The mushroom sauté was my next foray. My local market didn’t have lobster mushrooms, but it did have oyster mushrooms, which were at least thematically the same, and maitakes.
Seasoned with sesame oil, ginger root and soy sauce, this lobster variation was bright and boldly flavored, with the mushrooms adding a woodsy earthiness to what’s now my favorite version of surf and turf.
Last, I indulged in a luscious lobster pasta topped with a savory sherry sabayon. It was slightly more labor-intensive than the usual cream sauce, but more ethereal, too.
As an extravagant, final touch, I crowned the pasta with glowing beads of salmon caviar. True, this wasn’t on sale. But I couldn’t resist celebrating how much money I saved on the lobster.
Sounds fantastic. The last time I had lobster was when Ally and Francis were in town. We tried BBQ and it was a huge success. I suspect the next time I'll get my favorite fish will be my birthday this summer! In my family we had a tradition of eating lobster on birthdays. Yum.
-t
3 comments:
BTW, Francis tells me that he saw a sign outside a seafood shop that advertised Lobster for 5.95/lb. Amazing.
Because I am a Maine lobsterman, I don't find low prices amazing, I find them sickening.
Lobstermen are losing boats and most of their livelihood.
The price off the boat equals prices from the 70's. A drop in income that I don't feel any American could afford. It translates to roughly 50% of what they should be making.
Many places in Maine are seeing boat prices of $2.00 or less. Even though you are in an area that has something close to a reasonable markup, this isn't the case in many areas.
Some large chains have prices that are 5 or 6 times what the lobstermen are getting for their catch. With that sort of pricing, after the lobsters leave the boat, it is no wonder that lobsters aren't selling.
Kelly, thanks for giving us all some perspective on how these prices are affecting the people that harvest the lobsters in the first place. Hopefully prices will stabilize at a sustainable level before long...
-t
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