Favorite Meal
Growing up, I was exposed to a variety of foods when it came to dinner time. It was never anything too crazy but, my parents didn’t want us to be eating chicken nuggets and mac n cheese every night. When I was probably around seven years old when my Mom, being from Maine, gave me my first taste of lobster. Instantly I was hooked. Whenever I would visit my grandmother in Maine it would be the first thing I would ask if we can get. For my Mom’s birthday the next summer she wanted to do a lobster bake, essentially cooking lobsters on a beach. However, my Mom wanted it to be special, so she wanted to do it on one of the islands in Portland Harbor, which by no means is an easy task. It meant we had to lug all the equipment needed onto a boat and then off the boat again only to do the same thing when we are done. She told us that cooking this way was more fun and it made lobster taste even better. The only thing I could think of was how could lobster get any better? To my surprise she was right, it did taste better this way. Along with somehow improving my previous favorite meal, the overall experience was enhanced too. Thanks to my Mom wanting to do something fun and different for her birthday I was able to find my new favorite meal.
Lobster is a food that comes with a very strange reputation. It is a bottom feeder which is just a more scientific name for a trash can. However, as soon as this crustacean is hauled up from the bottom of the ocean it becomes food for the wealthy. Lobster is also a food that needs to be cooked as fresh as possible, so they are traditionally boiled alive. When I first had lobster, this was the way we did it, grabbed the lobsters and put them in a pot and then ate it. Now what makes doing a lobster bake special is that instead of using a big steel pot and a propane flame to cook, steam from a bon fire is used. Instead of using a specific recipe a very specific cooking technique is needed. The materials that is needed consist of wood, big rocks, trash bags of seaweed, and two canvas tarps. The first thing to do in order to begin is dig a hole about 5 feet deep and 5 feet wide. After the hole is dug it is then lined to the brim with big rocks. This step is very important because the rocks act as an oven. To heat up the rocks a big bon fire is lit on top of the rocks. The fire should be over the rocks for around an hour to an hour and a half, so they get red hot. This step is the most important. The logs are taken off the blistering rocks and then covered completely in seaweed. Once the rocks are covered the lobsters are put on the seaweed and then covered with the tarps. Since the rocks are hundreds of degrees and the seaweed is full of water steam begins to become trapped under the tarps causing the lobsters to be cooked. Once the lobsters are all cooked and the tarps are removed the best part begins. Even though the lobster is still steamed it is given a slight smoky flavor that is “like nothing you can get in a restaurant”. When my Mom was asked why she liked doing lobster bakes this was just part of her response, but it was a big part of it. This special way of cooking lobster and the special taste of it is only part of the reason why I enjoy this meal so much. Other aspects play a major role in making it so enjoyable for me.
The easiest part about doing a lobster bake is finding a location to do it. As long as you can dig the hole and make sure the fire is safely put out any location works. The most common place people have them is the beach because there is a lot of big rocks and if the fire is below the tide line you know it will go out. Since it was my Mom’s birthday, she wanted to do it on an island. My grandmother’s boyfriend has a 36-foot Grand Banks which we pack to the brim with people, food and equipment. Luckily for the boat, getting to the island isn’t the hard part. Getting everyone and everything off the boat and on the island is. Doing that takes many shuttle trips with an overflowing zodiac to the beach and back to the boat. Once everyone is safely on the beach the real fun begins. The supplies are the lugged to the other side of the island and then we begin the setting things up. Carrying heavy equipment takes a lot out of people so, when we get all set up all people want to do is relax. Unfortunately, this is when the cooking starts. Three people start digging the hole while two other people are filling trash bags with seaweed or begin finding big enough rocks. Doing all this work is a key part of the lobster bake experience. As soon as the work is done “is when everyone gets to kick back and relax”. Something about working hard to get to a big meal makes the whole thing more satisfying. The satisfaction of getting to enjoy a big meal after a hectic and tiring set up is what makes this meal so fun and enjoyable for everyone not just myself.
All the work that goes into planning and executing this meal requires a lot of people. What better people are there to spend a hot summers day stuck on an island than your family! Since we usually do this for my Mom’s birthday, my uncle likes to make a trip out of it. So, he flies in from Denver with his wife and kids that I don’t get many opportunities to see them. The best part about doing a lobster bake is “being with the family one last time for the summer and looking back at all the good times we had together as a family that summer”. My family likes to spend as much time together as we can, but it can be difficult with different people being in different places. This meal is a part or a reason that we all get together and enjoy each other’s company. The perfect combination of taste, satisfaction, and family all melds together in order to make this meal my favorite.
Food and meals are a major part of our everyday lives and we don’t even realize how important they are. Eating a meal provides people with all the things they need. Literally eating a meal is what provides your body the necessary nutrients to function. Along with the nutrients needed to survive, people are given a chance to connect with one another. Meal time is when people come together and talk about things that they may not always get a chance to do. Families and friends come together and talk about their days, what they are feeling or even the first thing that pops into one’s head. My favorite meal is the perfect combination of the most important aspects of a meal, friends and family.
RECIPE:
- Dig a whole 5 feet deep and 5 feet wide
- Cover bottom of whole with large flat rocks
- Build a bon fire over the rocks and let it burn for an hour
- Remove the burnt wood from the rocks and instantly cover them with sea weed
- place lobsters in sea weed then cover with the canvas tarp
- After 25 minutes remove the tarp and uncover the lobsters
- Let lobsters cool then enjoy!
