Lobster

[cleinen]

I am in Maine right now. I am looking to buy live lobsters and take them home on the plane. Does anyone know how long they will stay alive? I have asked some places that sell them and you get different answers.

[mmbt0ne]

Uh....why not just mail them to yourself? It would be a lot easier, and would be certain not to stink up everybody's luggage.

[manpower]

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Uh....why not just mail them to yourself? It would be a lot easier, and would be certain not to stink up everybody's luggage.

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Lobsters are a real bitch to move, if you put them in a styrofoam cooler with ice and seaweed you should be alright for 24 hours or so. If you wrap them like this they shouldn't really produce much of an odor. My advice, go out and buy them the morning before you fly out, carry the cooler onboard (I personally wouldn't check it) and put them in the fridge wrapped in a wet cloth as soon as you get home. They won't last more than a few days. If they die in transport or storage the meat start going bad very quickly (even if refridgerated) and could make you a little sick if you eat it. You should probably get hardshells, they're hardier and have more meat per weight/volume, but have slightly more stringy meat.

As an alternative, you might try going to the market and getting a quantity of precooked and shelled lobster meat. It will be easier to transport, wont spoil (any easier than other meats) and should still taste pretty good once you get a chance to eat it.

Shipping them to yourself is another alternative, I don't think i'd do it though. After you pay overnight shipping for a box full of lobster + ice + seaweed, your margins might start looking pretty slim compared with just buying some out of the tank at your local supermarket. Also the box will be subject to more jarring, shaking and being upside down than if you handle them yourself.

[Brain]

How long is the plane ride?

[mason55]

Cockroaches of the sea.

[cleinen]

Plane trip is about 6 hours all together.

[BottlesOf]

This is not a great idea. Get your fill while you are up there.

[wacki]

Pack them on ice, don't let them drown (fresh water is bad for them).

They will be fine for a few days. You will see them move slower and slower.

[rusty JEDI]

What is the point of the seaweed?

rJ

[moondogg]

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What is the point of the seaweed?

rJ

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To make the lobsters feel at home. Lobster are emotionally fragile, and if they are not happy, they will flail about and fight with each other. The resulting exercise will cause their meat with become tough and stringy, much like a poorly raised veal calf.

[IndieMatty]

I feel like, for a job of this magnitude, you better get Newman to borrow a mail truck.

[wacki]

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To make the lobsters feel at home. Lobster are emotionally fragile, and if they are not happy, they will flail about and fight with each other.

[/ QUOTE ]

Lobsters have the neural complexity of a cricket. You can rip one of their legs off and 2 seconds later they won't even know it's gone.

[wacki]

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The resulting exercise will cause their meat with become tough and stringy, much like a poorly raised veal calf.

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No, it won't. Just put them on ice, they will get nice and slow. And don't let them drown!!!!

[dtbog]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
To make the lobsters feel at home. Lobster are emotionally fragile, and if they are not happy, they will flail about and fight with each other.

[/ QUOTE ]

Lobsters have the neural complexity of a cricket. You can rip one of their legs off and 2 seconds later they won't even know it's gone.

[/ QUOTE ]

Both very nice posts.

EDIT: That's the problem with the Internet -- my response looks sarcastic, when I didn't mean it as such. I did genuinely laugh at both of these posts.

(someone please post the special olympics pic, as I most definitely argued with myself here)

[jrbick]

I'm pretty certain that the companies that actually send lobsters from ME to anywhere in the US via mail-order use dry ice. I think you can pick that up at most grocery stores.

I am from ME. Where are you visiting? Oh yeah, you definitely need to buy them the day you are flying out.

Lobstah is wicked goohd, bub!

[wacki]

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I'm pretty certain that the companies that actually send lobsters from ME to anywhere in the US via mail-order use dry ice.

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Dry ice can burn the meat. Plus the CO2 can kill the lobster. Gel packs are best. Ice 2nd best and works just as well if you remember to drain the water and keep packing more ice on top.

[manpower]

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What is the point of the seaweed?

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The seaweed just acts as a buffer between the ice and lobster and helps to keep them moist, we use it because it's available and essentially free. A cloth or papertowel should work just as good, but the seaweed looks more authentic and will impress your friends.

[Clarkmeister]

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Delicious cockroaches of the sea.

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FYP

[2+2 wannabe]

there's a clear answer....

you buy a live 3 pound lobster, take it home, feed it to 30 pounds, and eat the profits

[cleinen]

I am in Freeport

[Crveballin]

[ QUOTE ]
there's a clear answer....

you buy a live 3 pound lobster, take it home, feed it to 30 pounds, and eat the profits

[/ QUOTE ]

Pinchy?