How to prepare a Lobstah !

DISCLAIMER: 2 LIVE ANIMALS WERE HURT, KILLED and EATEN DURING THE CREATION OF THIS POST! SUE ME!  :)


Living on coastal New England has it's advantages besides the awesome people and the quiet laid back life style...L O B S T A H!!!!!
We absolutely LOVE it and we eat it like the locals do.
When we lived in Sao Paulo lobster was considered a splurge for us, my favorite was lobster Fondue. You can still find this awesome restaurant in Sao Paulo called GREEN GARDEN .
GREEN GARDEN is an awesome romantic place up on the HILLS right outside the city, but you can see the BEST view of Sao Paulo from up there, it is really high, at Serra da Cantareira, a place with fresh clean crisp cool air, a beautiful area to drive on a Saturday or Sunday. There are several awesome gated communities in the area and upscale homes on the side of the mountains all over the place.
GREEN GARDEN also has a huge fireplace right in the middle of the restaurant with lots of tables right around the fire and many more in romantic booths all around the place, each with a better view than the other.
They serve one of the best Lobsters in Sao Paulo, the city is only about 1 hour from the coast so they do get live Lobsters all the time.

CORRECTION:  GREEN GARDEN IS NOT SERVING LOBSTERS ON A REGULAR BASIS AT THIS TIME. THEY DO OCASIONALLY HAVE LOBSTER FESTIVALS.


They have a Fondue "Rodizio" going on right now, which is all you can eat, all types of fondue for a fixed price, that includes Filet Mignon, Cheese, Chocolate, fresh fruit etc...I am not sure if the Lobster is included, you should call and ask if you are driving out there just for their Lobster. It might not be a part of the "Rodizio" deal and will most likely cost you extra.
So, long story short! In Sao Paulo Lobster is an expensive treat, not your trivial daily staple.
My favorite all time Seafood restaurant in Sao Paulo is:

Amadeus
Rua Haddock Lobo, 807 (Flat Crillon Plaza)
Tel.: (11) 3061-9965

Amadeus is right across the street from the Renaissance Hotel in Sao Paulo on the corner, actually sort of behind the Hotel if you are facing the main entrance.
They DO SERVE an awesome Lobster and Oysters too.
NOOWWWW, in New England....It is and it has always been POOR people's FOOD, YES, a staple on blue collar lunch boxes, usually in the shape of a "Lobster Rolls", which is a very sloppy sandwich on a "Hot Dog Bun" looking bread cut on the top, not on the side, it always has Hellman's mayonnaise, celery and a few other ingredients.
You can find Lobster Rolls even at Mac Donald's restaurants in the summer around our area, they cost around U$7,00 but they are made with real Lobster meat and they are worth every bite.
Traditional delis around the area sell Lobster Rolls for anything between U$12,00 and U$16,00, but don't worry, Blue collar wages around New England hover well above U$30,00 per hour, going all the way to U$60,00 dollars per hour for construction workers.
Cost of living here is high.

Traditional New England style Lobster Roll

It is poor people's food here because anyone can catch it off the coast, it is and it has always been abundant in the region, so even if you don't have a Lobsters trap and can't catch one, your neighbor, your cousin, friend and a guy down the block will catch a bunch and either give away to family or sell for very little.
Off course the commercial fishing community around here sells Lobsters at a premium to distributors who then sell them all over the world.
But if you are a local like we are now and know were to go to get your fresh Lobsters right off the boat, you can eat them ALL the time, if you like Lobster off course.
We do like it, we actually LOVE IT and we even have a favorite fisherwoman, yes, fisherwoman called Joanne, she is very cool and always let Okie come up on the pier, he is freaked out of the Lobster traps filled with weird looking CATS, yes, for Okie, everything that it's not a dog, it's a CAT and he must chase it, deer, rabbit, squirrel, CAT, CAT, CAT.




Our local fish market sells them for a premium. But we always buy them at the pier directly from the boats.



Our local pier. The fishing boats come back from the Ocean between 2:30pm and 5:30pm filled with Lobsters, Crab and Fish

 

London 3335 Miles, Boston 80 Miles, Bathrooms: ACROSS THE STREET :)

Ok, enough talk, let's get down to business, HOW TO PREPARE LOBSTERS, or LOBSTAH for the locals, remove your R's from the alphabet people and you will talk almost like a New Englander, almost:

Joanna, our fisherwoman sells us Lobsters directly from the boat for 5 bucks a piece regardless of the size.

1-Gil and I always get 1 Lobster each, that is our U$10,00 dollar budget for Lobster :) 
Frugality is another strong and greatly admired characteristic of New Englanders.
We usually pick a pound and a half sized Lobster each, which is about 750gr, almost 1 kilo each.
That is because we like to eat other things besides the Lobster, like corn on the cob and a nice thick Sword  Fish Fillet that we make on the grill.




Live Lobsters ready for the big cooking POT!



Make sure to cut the rubber bands holding the Lobster's claws just before placing them in the pan. THEY WILL BITE! Grab them from the back.

Place a stainless steel strainer at the bottom of the POT with water. USE A LARGE POT that will fit both Lobsters.

2-You are not going to fill the POT with water, just have water at the bottom of the POT, you are going to STEAM the Lobsters, so make sure there is enough water in the bottom to create steam but not too much water to keep the Lobsters from being boiled in the water.




Place the Lobsters in headfirst so they can't try to climb out! Ouch! I know... :(



When they are both in the POT, cover it and time exact 12 minutes in the steam and remove them!

3-Now, Don't freak out, they DO SQUEAL! It is awful the first time you do it, kids might be impressed, but everyone should just get over it. They are food after all and we are not PETA  :)

After exact 12 minutes in the steam they should be RED and READY! :)

We place them on the counter for a few minutes to let it cool a little, remember we are eating them with our hands.

4-It is not a fancy dinner folks, this is a simple lunch, eat with your hands dripping down your elbows type of lunch. My mother would faint if she saw how much we lost our fork and knife good manners...but we get civilized again when we pass customs at Sao Paulo International Airport and no one would imagine the eat with our hands "Barbarians" we have become ;)

Lunch is served.

5-Lunch is served. One grilled LOCAL Sword Fish Fillet each, a bunch of corn on the cob and ONE pound and a half Lobster each.
We enjoyed our grilled fish drizzled with fresh lime juice, for the Lobster we have little cups with melted butter and crushed fresh garlic.

6-We use these little Lobster cracking devices and these little Lobster forks that are small enough to go into the claws and other parts, you can use a regular nutcracker and a regular small fork, it will work just the same.
We both like to crack and remove all the meat from the Lobster and then start eating it, you can find your own way of doing it.



Lobster meat removed with a little fork or a regular fork.

             In Sao Paulo we either drive 1 hour to Santos and go to the end of the beach where there is an awesome FISH MARKET right off the water and buy our Lobsters there or you can get your live Lobsters your local fish market, Pao de Acucar grocery stores, Extra, at Carrefour or even Walmart, they all sell LIVE LOBSTERS.
             I don't know where to get them in Rio but it's probably easier than in Sao Paulo. Lobsters are very popular and very affordable in all of the Northeast Region of Brazil.



Ray