Summer Lobster Bake

This recipe and photos were provided by Sally Roeckell of Table and Dish and were originally published at 365Barrington.com as a part of the Heinen’s 4 P.M. Panic Series.

Heinen’s wants to know how you #SummerWithHeinens! What summer memories do you have that center around the table and your favorite foods of the season? I can’t think of any meal that speaks to summer as well as a lobster bake. For this week’s 4PM Panic post, we’re sharing our summer holiday lobster bake. On the beach or in the kitchen, it’s always our favorite meal. One year we decided to make a lobster bake for Thanksgiving. After all, at the first Thanksgiving they ate what was abundant and clams and lobsters were surely on the menu. We were totally bummed when we realized we had no left overs for turkey sandwiches though. So now it’s a summer-only menu for our family.

A lobster bake is a fabulous feast that brings everyone together around a table filled with fresh steamed flavors from the sea and it couldn’t be easier! Once you’ve collected your ingredients it’s just a matter of adding them into the pot. I’ve prepared them by boiling and steaming, but I think we prefer steaming. My steamer pot has two compartments with a spigot at the bottom to drain the liquid. The main compartment holds 19-quarts and the lower steam compartment hold 12-quarts of liquid. You can use a large 24-30 quart pot with a steam rack on the bottom and a tight fitting lid or simply invert a metal strainer on the bottom of the pot to lift the food above the liquid to steam it.

The photographer in me would have liked to style this meal so it was beautiful and have everyone looking their best. The reality was that after a long day at the beach I had five very hungry people standing by who couldn’t wait to dig in. I was lucky to snap these pics.  We didn’t let our tiny porch table limit us.  We gathered around and piled it high.

If it’s available, put an inch or so of seaweed in the bottom of your pot to keep the lobsters and other ingredients from scorching. It will add an extra briny flavor.

Ingredients:

• 1 750-milliliter bottle dry white wine
• 2 1/2 pounds small new potatoes, about 1′ in diameter
• 6 live lobsters*, about 1 1/4 pounds each
• 6 large eggs (when the eggs are hard boiled the lobster is done)
• 6 ears of corn, husked, halved
• 1 1/2 pounds spicy smoked sausage (such as linguiça, kielbasa, or andouille), cut into 2′ pieces
• 1 lemon, quartered, sliced
• 1 orange, quartered, sliced
• 1 large bunch thyme
• 3 dozen littleneck, Manila, or steamer clams*, scrubbed
• 3 pounds mussels*, scrubbed, debearded
• 3 lbs raw medium shrimp deveined
• 1 Tbs Old Bay seasoning
• 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, melted

*can be ordered, with 24 hours’ notice, from your Heinen’s store

Method:

• Place a steamer basket in 30-quart pot. Add wine and 12 cups water and Old Bay seasoning; cover and bring to a boil.
• Add potatoes; cover and cook 5 minutes.
• Add lobsters and eggs; cover and cook 10 minutes.
• Gently nestle corn, sausage, lemon, orange, thyme, in pot. Cover and cook 5 minutes. Add Manila clams or steamers (if using), cover, and cook 10 minutes.
• Add mussels and shrimp, cover, and cook until shellfish open, about 5 minutes (discard any that do not open).
• Peel 1 egg and cut in half. If it’s hard-boiled, lobsters are ready.
• Using a slotted spoon and tongs, transfer clambake to a very large platter or a table covered with newspaper. Pour broth from pot into small bowls, leaving any sediment behind. Serve clambake with broth and melted butter.

Share your favorite summer feast with us.  Tag us using #SummerWithHeinens and follow along to see what others are sharing, too!