Hard Shell vs. Soft Shell Lobster Cracked Open With a Machete [PHOTOS/VIDEO]

We had an awesome lobster feast this weekend at camp made even more awesome when my friend's dad pulled out a machete to crack them open! 

We got up early on Saturday morning to head into Bridgton to pick up our lobster. I was convinced by my friend Gary and his dad Norman that I wanted to get the hard shell. The soft shell was half the price of the hard shell, but they told me that you get a lot more meat for your money by buying the hard shell. Fair enough. I bit the bullet and ponied up for a two pound hard shell lobster. I figured one would do the trick since I was having steamers too.

While waiting for our order, I took a look into the tank at Maine Lobster Express and saw a lively bunch just ready for the pot.

We ended up steaming our lobsters rather than boiling them. According to the Maine Lobster Marketing Colabrative:

...steaming is more gentle, yielding slightly more tender meat. It preserves a little more flavor and it’s more forgiving on the timing front. It’s harder to overcook a steamed lobster.

 

I was also told that steaming them will mean less water pouring out of the shell when you crack it open. Makes sense to me.

Now this is where things got crazy. I was expecting that we'd have nut crackers to crack open the shells to get the meat out. Nope. Norman said he'd handle it and then whips out his machete and proceeds to do all the work for us!

Nothing like coming to a gun fight with a rocket launcher!

It worked perfectly. The only thing I needed crackers for were the knuckles. Norman took care of the rest making it easy to get the meat out.

That's my cousin/niece with the horrified look. It would take a while to explain the relationship since I don't even understand it myself.

My family and friends enjoyed a nice lobster feast with the half that were lobster haters enjoying spaghetti and meatballs. I still have a hard time understanding why some people from Maine don't like lobster. It's like being from Maine and being a New York Yankees fan. It's just wrong.

It was a great day at camp and we rounded out the night with several games of Cards Against Humanity. I'd write about that here, but it might get me banned from the internet.