8 Reasons Why You Should Have A New England Lobster Bake & How

Posted on May 24, 2018 | 0 comments

One of my favorite activities growing up in New England was having a Lobster Bake. My grandparents had an amazing home right on the coast in Maine. My grandfather had a lobstering permit and 4 traps placed out in front of the house.

I have the best memories of digging up our own clams, checking the lobster pots and then bringing home our fresh catch for the best dinner ever. My gran would have potatoes, corn on the cob, salad and bread ready for us and the pots of water already boiling. I would set the table as my grandfather would cook and de-shell our lobsters and clams and within 15 minutes of being home, we would be sitting down to literally heaven on earth on a plate!

But as we all know, time moves on even if we don’t want it to. And things change. The house in Maine was sold, I had children of my own and eventually we relocated to Southern California. It has been an incredible journey, and I am thankful for every moment. But… Good Lord do I miss the New England seafood. West coast seafood just does not taste the same.

Sure I get my fixes periodically, when I’m traveling. But I longed for a proper New England Lobster Bake in my own yard, just like I did regularly growing up.

What is a New England Lobster Bake?

A New England Lobster Bake is a traditional method of cooking seafood. The food is cooked in boiling water over seaweed. The lobsters usually on their own in a pot of water and the clams can be mixed in with corn on the cob, potatoes and various other things.

It is usually done to celebrate special occasions. Or it can be it’s own reason to gather a group of family and/or friends as well. Everyone wants to go to a New England Lobster Bake!! The food is incredible, the people are always fun and a great time will be had by all.

Sadly, it had been ages since I have hosted one and had all but given up on being able to share that incredible experience on a more regular basis with my kids.

Until I found Lobster Taxi® that is…

A few weeks ago I was at an event and met a 17 year old talking about spending summers in Maine and loving the lobsters. Given my history (and my Lobster Bake cravings), I was curious to know what he was all about.

What is Lobster Taxi®?

Lobster Taxi® is an online, overnight shipper of LIVE Maine Lobsters, steamers, other seafood and local deserts – wait, have you ever heard of the Maine Whoopie Pies? Just a side note, they are incredible, the perfect post Lobster Bake desert – to anywhere in the United States.

I know, it sounds to good to be true right? This was the first time I had heard of someone shipping them successfully LIVE so you can cook them how you like them! They have great reviews and this kid has a solid business plan at such a young age…

Hunter Nelson started this company at the age of 15 after spending magical summers in Maine, enjoying New England Lobster Bake after New England Lobster Bake and wanting to share that experience with his west coast friends and family. He recognizes that when we purchase live Maine Lobster outside of New England, we really have no way of knowing how long it has been out of it’s natural habitat and what the effects that has on the quality of lobster itself (usually negative).

Hunter found a way to overnight ship LIVE lobsters that were pulled out of Casco Bay in Maine within a day of ordering directly to you. With just the press of a few buttons, Lobster Taxi® will be at your door the next day with the freshest, live seafood.

I had to try Lobster Taxi®!

Our New England Lobster Bake With Lobster Taxi®

Given that Mother’s Day was right around the corner, I thought it would be a unique Mother’s Day idea to spend the day with my littles, close friends and family sharing such a big part of my childhood with a New England Lobster Bake. Check out how amazing out Mother’s Day was thanks to Lobster Taxi® here.

I won’t lie, I am a total seafood snob. And I had my doubts as to if this was even possible, but my hopes were high and I was not to be disappointed!

I ordered 8 Live Maine Lobsters and 6 lbs. of Live Steamers (something that I have literally never had outside of New England. No one serves steamers, ever, yet they melt in your mouth and are the best thing on the planet so I was so excited to try these!) on a Friday afternoon. It was quick and easy, their website is super user friendly.

A box arrived at around 1pm on Saturday. Every single one arrived ALIVE!! And I mean every steamer too. I checked, I can’t tell you how many times I would lose a couple just on the drive home from the fish store just from breakage and whatnot and yet Lobster Taxi® shipped 6 lbs. of them and they all made it! The lobsters looked comfortable, humanely, consciously treated, shipped and fine. They even added some seaweed which I utilized later.

Pro Seafood Tip: Soak your steamers in water with a handful of cornmeal, it helps clear out their systems and gives them a better taste!

I rinsed the steamers, poured a huge pot of water, added the cornmeal and dumped the steamers in to soak overnight. I put them in the fridge. The lobsters were perfectly packaged so I put those in the fridge too for overnight.

It was really exciting the next day when it was time to start getting ready to cook to find everything alive and looking good! I like my lobsters cooked separately in boiling water and then I make a nice clam bake to go with it. Here is what we did.

To go with the Lobster Bake, the kids made (ahem… it was Mother’s Day!!) cornbread and pasta salad. I filled up our lobster pot with water, added some of that nutritious seaweed and set it to boil as it takes a while.

In another giant pot, I filled 3 quarters of the way with water, added a generous cup of white wine, 6 cloves of garlic, half an onion, peeled potatoes, 3 diced stalks of celery, corn on the cob and fresh parsley. I set that to boil and went about draining and rinsing the steamers.

When both pots are at a full boil, I added 4 lobsters at a time cooking each between 11-14 minutes (not a second longer) and the steamers stay in until their shells pop open – about 15 minutes. You will want to save several dishes of this broth for dipping the clams in before you dip them in butter. I like to put bowls of the broth in between each set of people at the table, along with empty bowls for shells.

I arranged them nicely, while the littles got the table set and ready. We opened some lovely champagne and sat down to see if Lobster Taxi® really delivered or not!!

I excitedly broke into the lobster claw first as that is my favorite part and would tell me if these lobsters were as fresh as they claim.

I dipped it in butter…

I put it in my mouth…

And it tasted just like I had remembered, maybe even better! It was so so incredibly, deliciously good. Not only did I love it, but this was the first time a few people at the table had tried it so fresh and I could see the addiction forming. Seriously, there is nothing on this earth that tastes better than fresh lobsters and steamers.

The steamers rocked my world. I have never been able to get steamers outside of New England before and to have ones that taste seriously incredible delivered right to my door was perhaps one of the best Mother’s Day gifts ever. I felt close to my family for a little while even though some of them are no longer here and the rest of them are on the East Coast.

So, if you need a little more encouragement, here are 8 reasons why you should have a New England Lobster Bake, now that I have told you how!!

8 Reasons to Have A New England Lobster Bake

The food. There just is nothing better tasting in the world than fresh lobsters and steamers. Paired with good drink, cornbread and summer salads… you will have everyone smiling and in a great mood!
The company. A lobster bake puts everyone in a good mood, gets everyone outside and oxygenated and gives you a reason to have a party!
The health benefits of Lobster. Lobster is incredibly healthy, believe it or not. It carries less than 1 gram of fat while having 19 grams of protein plus a powerhouse of essential nutrients.
The memories. Having a New England Lobster Bake (especially for my west coasters) is a unique, traditional experience that your family and guests will remember forever. I bet they will have want to have one of their own once they see how delicious and fun yours was!
The food. I know, this had to get 2 spaces because seriously friends, a New England Lobster Bake is like heaven in your mouth and Lobster Taxi® delivers what they say, fresh, live seafood that is really, really good.
It is easy. Of all the types of backyard bbqs and summer parties, this is perhaps one of the easiest and best. Cornbread and salads can be made ahead of time and depending on what seafood you are cooking, you will just need 1 – 2 giant pots of water and a few serving dishes! Leave out seafood shell crackers, small dishes for warm butter, lobster forks, plates and tons of napkins and you are all set!
There is minimal clean up. Keep garbage bins handy for easy shell throw away, and you only have a few pots and serving platters to clean! Done and done!
It is unique. A New England Lobster Bake is a truly unique experience that will surprise and delight people of all ages. Coming together over good food, spending time outside, together, eating, laughing, drinking… that is what life is all about, isn’t it?

Lobster Taxi® makes it so easy to have by literally bringing everything right to your doorstep. Check out their website and your calendar and start planning your New England Lobster Bake today.

I can’t wait to hear all about it!

Cheers!

Malibu Mama Loves Xx