LOBSTER BOIL
Courtesy Rachel Roberts (adapted via Food.com)
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
♦ 2 1/2 quarts water
♦ 1 (18-oz) bottle beer
♦ 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (to taste)
♦ 1/2 head elephant garlic, smashed
♦ 2 lemons, halved
♦ 2 fresh or dried bay leaves
♦ 2 onions, quartered
♦ 4 ounces Old Bay Seasoning
♦ 1/8 cup salt
♦ 2 lbs kielbasa or andouille sausage, sliced
♦ 3 to 6 ears fresh corn, cleaned & broken into 2 (1/2 halved or 1/4 if large)
♦ 2 to 3 lbs small potatoes (1/2 halved or 1/4 if large)
♦ 4 live lobsters

Directions:
Prepare the boil: In a very large outdoor boiler/fryer or in a very large pot heat first 9 ingredients. Using half the water and adding as you need it so food is completely submerged with an extra 2-4 inches to cover. (Rachel Note: I didn’t have one big pot, so I used two smaller ones and divided the recipe between them.)

When it comes to a boil lower heat to medium high and add sausages – cook for 3 minutes. Add potatoes and cook for 8 minutes, then finally add corn. There should be enough water so that the ingredients are submerged.

Cook the lobsters: Strain into a large pot or bowl set aside and cover. If needed add more beer or water into the cooking liquid. Using tongs, carefully add a live lobster into pot and cook for 5 minutes – add one or three at a time (depending on the size of your pot).

Serve with melted butter, lemon, salt, and cocktail sauce.

Rachel Note: Getting your friends to touch a lobster for the first time – as well as put them into the pot! – may be much easier than you expect. Group peer pressure seems to work best 🙂

To read more about this dish and my musical pairing, click HERE.