Lobstergram: don't even think about it

[Jenise]

So a few months ago I ordered six Maine 10-12 ounce lobster tails, at about $40 ea, from Lobstergram.

My thoughts:

1) They may be 10-12 ounces with their clothes on, but it's not even 8 ounces worth when you get it out of the shell.

2) They leave reddish color on anything they touch. Dye?

3) They're salty. And beyond that, not a lot of true fresh lobster flavor. More salt than anything.

4) Go ahead and try to grill them--they don't brown. And the meat stays clearish instead of becoming opaque. Which indicates they were treated with a citric acid preservative and perhaps that's why the red color runs, why they're salty and why they don't have true lobster flavor.

They came pre-cooked?

Yuck. I am fortunate to live where live lobsters are readily available at $10-12/lb, and occasionally on sale for much less ($7/lb fairly frequently, a few years ago during height of glut $4/lb several times).
The yield is no surprises,but rest sounds terrible. As I can get live not something I mail order, but I know people outside Northeast who have been very happy with things from Browne Trading Company in Portland ME (also a good caviar source)

[Jenise]

Jeff, no. Not precooked, but frozen--and heavily treated.

Dale, thanks for the lead. I'll check into that. We basically don't get live lobster over here. I buy frozen Australian or Carribean tails quite often. They don't have the flavor of Maine, but because they're untreated with preservatives in the end they're better than these awful things from Lobstergram.

Uncooked lobsters aren't red!

(Yes, yes, I know: about 1 in a gazillion actually is red, not blue-green. Spare me.)

[Jenise]

The shells weren't red, they were green. But there was redness on the lobster meat itself that rubbed off. Doesn't happen on Australian tails. Might have been natural but tending to 'bleed' because of the salt/preservatives.

We order yearly from James Hook in Boston and have been very happy.
We usually get a couple of pounds of knuckle and claw meat (pre-cooked and cleaned) for lobster rolls.
They ship overnight to AZ in a styro cooler with lots of freezer packs and if you ask they will include style split top hot dog rolls.

[Jenise]

Thanks, Bill. I remember now that you moved to Arizona from Boston, so I'm sure it's the taste of home for you. I'll check into your source, as well as Dale's. I love all the shellfish and can catch Dungeness crab right in front of my house, but for me who didn't even grow up on it, lobster's king.