Happy Lobstering!
| August 3, 2012 | Posted by Mindy under Cooking, Recipes, Seafood |
It’s August and you know what that means? Spiny Lobster Season is here! The 8 month long regular lobster season kicks off on August 6th and runs through March 31st. Spiny lobster is one of Florida’s top commercial seafood products with a dockside value of over $38.6 million in 2011. That’s over 5.7 million pounds of lobster, over 90% of which was landed in Monroe County, Florida!
Before venturing out to catch a few lobsters for dinner, make sure you are familiar with the rules and regulations on Spiny Lobsters. There will be different bag limits depending on where you collect your lobsters. For instance, during the regular season in Monroe County, there is a limit of 6 per harvester, per day. Other locations in Florida allow 12 per person, per day. There is also a size limit of these tasty crustaceans which is the carapace (head, body or front section) must be greater than 3 inches.
Looking for some great Spiny Lobster recipes? How about some Surf & Turf?
Grilled Lobster Surf and Turf with Shallot Butter
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 large shallots, peeled and quartered
- 4 large garlic cloves, peeled and halved
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 6 6-ounce Florida beef filets
- 3 uncooked whole Florida lobster tails, cut in half lengthwise
Preparation
Combine first 6 ingredients in processor and blend until almost smooth. Spread 1 heaping teaspoon seasoned butter over each side of each steak and over each lobster half. In a small saucepan melt remaining seasoned butter; keep warm. Heat the grill to medium-high heat and grill steaks 4 minutes per side or to desired doneness. Grill lobster tails, shell side down, 5 minutes. Turn over and grill until meat is just opaque in center, about 3 minutes. Transfer steaks and lobster to plates. Serve with warm seasoned butter.
