Bubba - The 22lb. Lobster
 

I'm a charter member of People for the Eating of Tastey Animals (PETA) so I'd be drawing some lemon-butter and firing up the grill. This guy is impressive at first glance but when you see the eras in which he's lived -- I guess we can throw this one back for now. :D

http://hosted.ap.org/photos/P/PAKS10203011906-big.jpg

Yummy. Now I wonder if I can get a lobster roll around here for lunch.

A friend of mine who skin dives off the New Jersey shore picked up a huge lobster a couple years ago. I not sure how much it weighed, but it's claw was almost two pounds which he gave to one of the guys in work to feed his family. But I think the whole lobster was still under 12lbs.

I saw a 15 pounder once in a fresh seafood store in New Hampshire and I've seen plenty in the 10 pound range. I didn't realize it was so uncommon to see big ones like that.

not to mention the larger ones are not as sweet tasting as the smaller ones :)

I can't believe how big that thing is...

Geez, I think that'd be enough food for me for a week!

Aaaah that my good friend is a myth. There's a line of thinking that just says well it's old very old so the meat must not be as tender, etc. It is just as sweet and tender. The varieties are different so if you compare say a carribean rocky to one of these monsters you will get a different taste experience. Now that I think about it ... I say we cook this bad boy and sample it just to find out if this is fact or mythology :D

There used to be a fish store in Pompton Lakes, NJ that had Larry the Lobster as it's mascot. No one wanted to buy Larry, but people would come to visit him... He was there for as long as I could remember and was a good 15 - 20 pounds. I wonder if someone had him for dinner when the fish store finally closed down...

I'll take the 3 pounders that they serve at the Portuguese restuarants around Newark, NJ... Loooove lobstahs... mmmm...

I have my claw crackers at the ready, it'll be tough to find a lobster pot big enough for him... :(

Wow!

That's a huge rubberband!

Well he's dead now. I'd start watching eBay if you want a shot at the big sunuvabitch.

That is really really cool. Anyone have any more pictures?
Too bad he's dead.
When I was a kid I'd always stand around and watch the lobsters and crabs in a tank at the supermarket when my mom went shopping, I'd have kept him as a pet.

He died? When? So hes lived over 100 years supposedly and now that they were transfering him to the zoo he dies? That... is sad.

Well I guess this is America when a big lobster grabs headlines for being big and old.

I've caught plenty of lobsters that size. Before the lobster fad boomed (say... mid 80s? My culinary history is not too good), they were pretty common, actually. Of course, I don't know this firsthand (I was born, say... mid 80s), but all the fisherman I know tell the same story. It's the same thing that's happened to countless other fish populations; they're getting killed off, so the ones we see are smaller and smaller.

I can't say with any certainty how old a lobster would have to be to get that big, but I think 100 years is far too high an estimate. While the statistic that it takes about 7 years for a lobster to reach a pound is absolutely true, it's also true that once they get big enough, it suddenly becomes a LOT easier for them to find food. Lobsters are extremely territorial, and one that's twice (or more) the size of most of the others in the water will be able to get food whenever it wants it. I'd guess a 22 pound lobster is like... 30.


Oh, and I wouldn't want to eat him.

Not true. Big lobsters are tougher. Little ones taste better. And they're cheaper per pound, because everyone wants a big one. Because everyone's dumb.

A 22 poubd lobster would be one tough mother, and he wouldn't taste very good. My favorite are the 1 pound softshells. They taste the best, and they're the easiest to eat. Of course, that's just my opinion.

This would be a great "test". Lobster eating.....mmmm.....lobster....oh Pinchie...

It's a great thing to work at a fancy restaurant and get a 50% discount on the entire dinner menu - including lobster. ;)

Umm..he kinda scares me :/ but i would never eat him or anyone else..animals are wayy too cute to much on :)

lobster rolls for everyone!

Okay well i didn't see a new topic mentioning how so many people wanted him to live a good life but when they transferred him to a new home he died anyways!! I couldn't help but chuckle as I assume he'd be eaten anyways!

Lobster's, like shrimp and other crustaceans, taste different for a number of reasons but the principle reason is their diet which depends on location. The specific breed will generally also vary by location as you will usually not find a Maine Lobster (which is an aggressive bugger) in the warm Caribbean waters and vice versa.

Lobsters are carnivorous. They eat mostly eat crabs, clams, worms, snails, mussels, flounder, and believe it or not other lobsters. Working down the food chain reveals that the content of their diet will vary by location which will lead to differences in their taste.

Texture or toughness is also confounded by location. The colder the water (a la Maine & New England waters) the more collagen is developed in the subcutaneous tissue of the lobster which leads to a tougher texture. The smaller ones, like the Caribbean spiny's, will be sweeter, more succulent, and generally more tender than those that come from colder water. ;)

That 22lb monster would taste very similar to his smaller contemporaries from the same part of the ocean.

I think it’s time for a lobster taste test!!! :D

Just not true. All the lobster I eat is from Maine, as I live there, and big ones taste MUCH different than small ones. As I described, it's probably because of the diet and the conditions in which they live. Big ones are tough. Small ones are nice and sweet.