Howdy, All, This year, as always, I will be cooking up lobsters for our Christmas Eve dinner. There are only four of us this year, so I've ordered 3, 1 1/2lb lobsters for the Gals, and a 2lb lobster for myself. I have always cooked up these tasty crustaceans on my old Coleman 426D, and may well continue to use that trustworthy setup. BUT, I've been thinking about using a different stove this year, and was considering one of my Optimus, or Primus #2 stoves. I'm not sure if those stoves can hold the weight of that large of a pot of water, with the addition of 6 1/2 lbs of lobsters, too! I also considered my Optimus 510, as it has more than enough power for the job. But, I have no pot stand for that stove, as of yet. My pot choices are a 20 quart aluminum pot, and a huge oven pot which we use for turkeys, and big pot roasts. I've used both of them for lobsters, balancing them both on the 426D with all three burners going full tilt! Any suggestions from those of you who have cooked up 4-5 lobsters on a camp stove, would be appreciated! If no suggestions are forthcoming, I'll probably just stick with the Coleman and use one, or both pots, as I've done in the past. One year, I cooked 6 lobsters in the same pot. I'm curious about what you other "Lobster Men" use for cooking up your own special dinners with those tasty Crustaceans! Thanks, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc
Like you, it's been our family tradition to have lobster for Christmas dinner. I'm in charge of catching and cooking the lobster. The lobster here on the west coast don't have claws. Once caught, I remove the tails from the lobster then vacuum pack and freeze them until Christmas. When Christmas comes I thaw the tails then cook them in a 140 degree Sous Vide bath in their vacuum pack bags. This method works well because the lobster tails are cooked through regardless of their size and remain tender. This year I got COVID and missed my 4 day dive trip over the opening of lobster season. Since I've only got 9 lobster tails we're going to have surf and turf this year. The fillet mignon will be cooked sous vide with the lobster then finished on a charcoal barbecue. Ben
I've cooked lobster tails the same way on a stove when out camping. I use a thermometer and throttle the flame down to keep the pot of water at 140 degrees. It takes more tending to but the results are the same. Ben
@Doc Mark I know you have a Geniol/Heinze folding military stove. I have used that to brew beer, cook soup for a troop of Scouts, deep fried Dutch 'oliebollen' on it, with my niece. I reckon a couple of lobsters won't be a problem *Edit* Here it is, brewing beer:
@ajvuik , Yes, I actually have two of those Geniol stoves. One is in mint condition, with all it's goodies, and I can't bring myself to fire it up, at least for now. I've used the other one, but it has a small leak around the starter setup, and will not hold pressure. I've had it torn down to it's parts, and still can't get the easy light, to stop leaking. No time to work on it, before we do Christmas. But, I did give thought to those stoves, when considering what might actually work out for cooking those lobsters! Thank you for your excellent suggestion, my friend! Take care, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc
@IRM , Excellent try, Good Sir! However, them's "fighting words", when it comes to lobsters!! Thanks for a good chuckle though, for both Sweet Bride, and me! Well done! Every Good Wish, Doc
@kerophile , George, I know that you have cooked up some large pots of sea food, but can't recall if a pot of lobsters was included in your experiences. What stove(s) do you use when cooking up a large pot of the Sea's Bounty?! Thanks, for refreshing my memory on that, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc Mark
Doc, Merry Christmas to you and yours. My seafood goes over coals on the barbie. Wise chose using the 426D three burner or a 413. Plenty sturdy for large pots. I get scarred using large skillets on those large brassies. I put a 5qt pot on a brassies once but never again. take care
Doc, your dinner sounds delicious. Reading your post, this is what came to mind: BUILDING A COOKING STAND
Shame to hear about you Geniol. I can understand you want to keep the mint one that way... But looking at the suggestions here, I guess you'll figure it out
@Marc I didn't read it but the article title plus your flame thrower photo was a fuuny combination! THX! Ron
Doc Mark: Whatever you chose for your cooking tool, I'm certain the dinner was a hit. The only thing your forgot to do was invite me over for dinner. Lance
