MEET LOB-ZILLA (22 LB Lobster)

New York Post ^ | March 2, 2005 | GERSH KUNTZMAN

[nickcarraway]

He's a lobster, but he'd make a whale of a meal. But don't start melting butter or putting on your bib: the massive, 22- pound crustacean, plucked from the icy waters off Maine last week, is heading for a museum, not a dinner plate.

Yesterday, the owner of Wholey's fish market in Pittsburgh — where Bubba has been chillin' since Thursday — gave the leviathan lobster to the local zoo, which will send it to a Ripley's Believe It or Not aquarium.

Until yesterday's reprieve, store owner Bob Wholey was caught in the middle of a battle between People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, which wanted the lobster freed, and a rival group, People for Eating Tasty Animals, which wanted the lobster fried. Bubba ranks as one of the most massive mollusks ever in captivity.

Typical lobsters are 1 1/2 pounds — and a diminutive denizen of the deep sharing his tank was only as big as Bubba's claw.

[martin_fierro]

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[#1CTYankee]

Largest Lobster was caught in Maine, it weighed just over 44 lbs and was 3 1/2 feet long.

[roaddog727]

"Largest Lobster was caught in Maine, it weighed just over 44 lbs and was 3 1/2 feet long."

Looks like my recollection was spot on - frightening thought........

Thanks.

[dsc]

" I never heard of anyone frying a lobster (And I live in Maine)."

Down on the norteast coast of Baja California they do, and serve them with lime instead of lemon. There's a whole town that does nothing else...or at least, there was in the 1980s.

Of course, those are Pacific spiny lobsters, so there's no claw issue.

I long for the day that I can get back to New England for a lobster and steamer mega-pigout.

[dsc]

"I heard the larger ones were not as tasty"

Nah, that's just something waiters say to move the small ones.

Nothing better on God's green earth than a HUGE claw. (Well, maybe steak Oscar.)

[ArrogantBustard]

Bubba ranks as one of the most massive mollusks ever in captivity.

Reporters are idiots.

[ChefKeith]

Fire up the grille

[Little Ray]

They do fry lobsters. My wife loved the fried lobster tail she had Atlantic Seafood, here in Alpharetta, GA. The presentation was pretty good, too. They peeled the tail out of the shell, which curved up an over the plate. Very pretty.

[Richard Kimball]

Because they send the smallest, crappiest reporters with no sense of how to operate a camera.

[Richard Kimball]

I think that it's cool to have this bad boy in a museum instead of freeing or eating him.

[4mycountry]

I read somewhere that lobsters this size aren't edible...

[Ol' Sox]

I'll give my brother a call this evening and see if he knows who caught this thing. He's a lobsterman out of Rockland, Maine. If it was caught "last week", it could have only been by one of a very small number of boats. The guys who are actively fishing at this time of year are few and far between. If I had to guess, I'd bet it was taken during the regular season, and stashed away until the winter price per pound was at its highest.

BTW, lobs of this size aren't as rare as you might think. They just aren't publisized, but sold for megabucks to a select few who have standing orders for them.

[Ol' Sox]

I read somewhere that lobsters this size aren't edible...

That's what they want you to think.

[4mycountry]

lol

[dsc]

"That's what they want you to think."

Yeah, the lobby lobby is pretty active.

[dsc]

"I'll give my brother a call this evening and see if he knows who caught this thing. He's a lobsterman out of Rockland, Maine."

Does he know how to ship lobsters to Japan so they arrive edible?

[#1CTYankee]

"Looks like my recollection was spot on - frightening thought........ "

Everyone I know states that I have an amazing propensity for accumulating absolutely useless knowledge.
It appears I have some company. :-)

[roaddog727]

"Everyone I know states that I have an amazing propensity for accumulating absolutely useless knowledge.
It appears I have some company. :-)"

Good to have company..... :-)

I refer to this propensity as being " a treasure trove of useless information"......

[Kenny Bunk]

SCUBALOBSTER

Invite 6-8 people A-list. No Kerry people or PETA Members. Ask me about Sierra Club people. Tell'em "Come Hungry. And bring 2-3 gallons driest, heaviest white wine possible, chilled below 32 and kept there."
So, then you you take about a 5-6 pounder (plenty big enough)unless you got a tenner.
Give him the live steam for about 3 minutes
Lower gently into about 5 gallons of your best marinara sauce that's almost done.
Cook gently about another hour or two, or three, or four.
Cook 5-6 pounds of Linguine al dente
Don lightweight foul weather gear.
Put Linguine on a huge platter
Place Lobster and sauce on top of linguine
Give every one a large wet towel, a fork and Channel Lock Pliers. The real ones, not the Chinese ones.
Turn up music.
Pour jelly glass of wine
Say Grace & MANGIA! NO FIGHTING!