ANATOMY of a LOBSTER CLAW: Can you HAND-le the truth?

Have you examinated your lobs lately? If so, you may have noticed that their claws are not symmetrical. The pincher claw is smaller and sharper looking than the crusher claw and like most things in nature, there is a damn good reason for this. Crusher, as it is called, is the larger slower and dumber of the two claws, it is used primarily in hanging on tight to prey as well as female mates (ridiculous). Pincher is the smaller, stealthier and sharper of two. Stick your finger in a lob trap and you are more likely to get pinched by a pincher than a crusher. REOW! Some lobs have a crusher on the right, pincher on the left, sometimes it’s the other way around and sometimes lobs have double crushers or double pinchers. These lobs are weird and nasty-ass mutants. Biologists seem to believe that the random claw formation and location is genetic, however signs point to environmental influence as well. Once in a while a lob will lose its claw. Whether they lose it to an undersea battle or “autotrophy” (self-amputation ala Aron Ralston) losing a claw means being sold at a cheaper price as CULLS.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2XLoQ1xYB0 

Aron Rolston, the guy who sawed off his own arm when trapped by a boulder in Utah.

Does this still look appetizing to you?

Lobster claws grow at an exponential rate as the lobs get older and crustier, kind of like the ears on an old man. When the lob is young and spritely, its claws may amass only about 5% of their total body weight. As they get older, the claws can account for up to half of a lobster’s total body weight!

WEIRD AND GROSS FACT: You know that curd-like, white substance that floats to the surface when you boil your lob? That is lobster blood. HAHA. Lobsters don’t have veins which means that said milky substance floats around the inside of their bodies bathing their organs, like a blood bath.

Lobster

Recommendation:  Please listen to Bobby rattle off the specials on ye ol' Extension 10 before leaving your nightly fish order.  Even though the message may seem long-winded and perhaps nuttier than a peach orchard boar, the merits of knowing what fish we have available for the next day are invaluable. For example, if you listen to Extension 10 on a Friday night, you might avoid being what some of you refer to as "totally screwed" on Saturday morning because we are out of (insert fish travesty of choice here _______). 

This Guy has the right idea.

Wrong way, Stupid!

Ext 10 goes straight to the lob. Use it!

Wreckfish, Lobster Roe, Lobster Tamale 10/26/10

Check yourself before you wreck yourself:

Do you want to sell locally sourced and sustainably harvested wild fish to your customers? Check

Do you want to put something on your menu that will be coming in steadily throughout the season?
Check
Do you want to cook a fish that hangs around shipwrecks and is really interesting and cool because of it? Check

Then buy some wreckfish, duh.

Also known as Stone Bass, these glorious savages of the sea are found in the famous Charleston Bump off the coast of the Carolinas. They are a great "eating fish" whatever you interpret that to mean, and they are affordable. They vary greatly in size (between 8-50# each) so make sure you let us know just how big of a wreckfish you are willing to take on. The bigger the better, remember we are in New York City. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise: SIZE DOES MATTER.

Lobster Guts.

Red and Green: Is it Christmas already? Wow, time flies when you spend every waking moment of your life slaving away in a 180 degree kitchen with an assemblage of stark raving lunatics, I mean cooks.

No fear, we are still in October. It's just that we have red and green lobster bits in stock. 
But what do the colors mean?

GREEN = Uncooked Lobster Roe

Here I am, talking about the greenish brown goop that is found inside the tail cavity of the lobster. Just great. This dark and stormy substance, aside from being a delicacy in some cultures, it is a little bit scary to the naked eye. We sell green (uncooked) lobster roe in 8oz or 1# frozen increments.

* This stuff should not be confused with Tomalley a.k.a lobster liver and pancreas which is the pea soup colored green shmoo located in no-man's-land between the lobster body cavity and tail.

RED = "CORAL"

When I tell you we sell red lobster roe I am talking about pre-cooked "coral" unfertilized lobster ovaries which are found on the inner curl of the lobster's tail. Same as the green stuff but cooked. Yum. Also sold in 8oz or 1# frozen vacuum sealed packages, you may refer to this element as "red lobster roe" when ordering.



Surely you already know that both of these products are excellent for making lobster appetizers, flavored soups and sauces. So, all there is left for you to do now is order some Red or Green Lob Roe. Give it a try, or a whirl or a ride on a disco stick or whatever they call it these days.

Crustaceans and Mollusks from New Zealand - Striped Bass and Lobsters

Let us discuss an assortment of specialty crustaceans and mollusks from New Zealand.



                                                                let the good times roll...


These products include some of the most delicious diamond clams and sweetest picked kona crab meat I have ever tasted.  A fabulous substitute for the standard cockles and manila clams you have been serving, these products from kiwi-land might be the zest your menu needs.

Find out more about what other exotic clams we are eating and whether or not we have the crabs. Oh yeah, and get your mind out of the gutter.
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 STRIPERS: Lean, mean and green.
The amount of female striped bass that can reproduce (female spawning stock biomass) was estimated at 55 million pounds in 2004. This estimate is well above the recommended biomass threshold of 30.9 million pounds and the target biomass of 38.6 million pounds. Stripers are not overfished.  In fact, many advocates for the Connecticut lobster fishery are saying that the striped bass are to blame for the dwindling lobster population in CT waters. These advocates are even using this as a reason for why the government should not impose a fishing moratorium on lobster.

Save a lobster, eat a striper.

Line caught fish are better for the environment. Line fishing minimizes by-catch. Nothing funny about that now is there?