BajaNomad - Fresh Lobster?

Fresh Lobster?

beachbum1A - 12-23-2007 at 10:22 PM

Now that we are in the midst of lobster season here in Baja, where is everyone buying their fresh losters? (the ones they'll cook at home themselves)
I was at the fish market in Ensenada briefly last Friday buying some shrimp to take north with me and don't remember seeing any lobster there. If I had thought about it at the time (which I didn't), I could have asked any of the vendors why they didn't have any for sale.

What's the deal?! WHERE ARE THE LOBSTERS? :?:

CaboRon - 12-24-2007 at 10:20 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by beachbum1A
Now that we are in the midst of lobster season here in Baja, where is everyone buying their fresh losters? (the ones they'll cook at home themselves)
I was at the fish market in Ensenada briefly last Friday buying some shrimp to take north with me and don't remember seeing any lobster there. If I had thought about it at the time (which I didn't), I could have asked any of the vendors why they didn't have any for sale.

What's the deal?! WHERE ARE THE LOBSTERS? :?:

YEA !!!!!! I haven´t seen any at the open market her in lA Paz either ......

CaboRon

Don Alley - 12-24-2007 at 10:58 AM

I'm not aware of any commercial lobster fishery in the SOC near Loreto.

On the Pacific side, the fishery is controlled by a coop. Members are only allowed to keep or sell a token amount of bugs, most are gathered and sold wholesale by the coop. So they go to restaurants, they go up north... Seems you have to know someone, or get lucky, to find some. We rarely see them sold by local vendors who sell shrimp, scallops, etc.

DENNIS - 12-24-2007 at 11:09 AM

If you want to be cured of lobster cravings, price them at Costco.

Tomas Tierra - 12-24-2007 at 11:31 AM

There is (was?) a guy at the Mercado Negro in Ensenada that would come up and ask if you wanted lobster.Victor was his name.Never got any from him, he tried to keep it on the down low. He was consistently there for at least 7 years. Haven't seen him for a while, haven't been to Baja for a while.

Hoop netting is the best way to get fresh bugs...

turtleandtoad - 12-24-2007 at 11:54 AM

According to the laws, the fishing license issued to tourists is only good for fin fish. Everything elso (lobster, clams, crabs, shrimp, oysters, mussles, etc) is off limits to tourists.

Ken Bondy - 12-24-2007 at 12:06 PM

I used to regularly buy lobster and abalone at the coop in Abreojos in the "R" months. But that was a long time ago.

++Ken++

Natalie Ann - 12-24-2007 at 05:57 PM

For fresh lobster.... go to the Mercado Negra in Ensenada. Have cash pesos in your pocket, easy access.... not in your wallet or purse. Quietly ask a vendor for langosta. The vendor will send you to another stall - I won't tell you which number stall, ya have to do some of this on your own.

Once at said stall, wait until there are not others close by to hear you and ask for langosta. Know how much you want, be ready to slide the cash into the hand handing you the bag of bugs, which will have rather mysteriously appeared out of 'nowhere'.

And no, I do not want to hear about whether this is a 'legal' sale or not, thank you and merry christmas to all.

Nena

beachbum1A - 12-25-2007 at 08:11 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Natalie Ann
For fresh lobster.... go to the Mercado Negra in Ensenada. Have cash pesos in your pocket, easy access.... not in your wallet or purse. Quietly ask a vendor for langosta. The vendor will send you to another stall - I won't tell you which number stall, ya have to do some of this on your own.

OMG, black market lobsters right here in Ensenada!! I wonder if that means you'll pay more than they're worth? Probably huh! But it sounds like it just might make for another interesting (and tastefull) experience here in Baja.

shari - 12-25-2007 at 08:57 AM

You can buy lobster from the coops on the coast here but they are not live...they ship nearly all lobster out to Ensenada live and then quickly cook the ones here and freeze them. They are about $10 a lobster depending on weight. The best way to eat lobster is to go and camp or hang out at a fish camp...in the camps the guys get to eat the lobsters with no legs so anyone they usually share the booty with amigos. Or befriend a lobster fisherman as they get a few every week for their families.

Cypress - 12-25-2007 at 02:57 PM

Shrimp are going for $12 US/kilo. The lobster vender is driving an armored truck.

JESSE - 12-26-2007 at 01:38 AM

In La Paz try MARSEL 123-3719 in Antonio Rosales #592 almost right on the corner of Ramirez. I buy all my Lobster there because the guy keeps it alive in temperature controlled tanks, and he will kill them right there for you before you take them home.

Cant get more fresh than that.

oldjack - 12-26-2007 at 04:37 AM

Can't find fresh lobster in Los Barriles.... what are the business hours and prices for the LaPaz reference????

bajadedom - 1-4-2008 at 06:39 PM

Lobster Note - Get a fishing rod, a nice treble hook with a hunk of mackeral or bonito and a half of a nylon stocking threaded on the hook loosley before you bait up......find some nice rocky point and fish just after sunset....Make a nice cast and wait for the bumps you'll feel....as the bugs get stuck in the nylon (nobody will know what you are fishing for)....bust the lobster tail off at the joint and take an antenna off to ram fat side first into the ___hole to clean or de-vein it. Keep the tail and toss the rest...cook about 8 minutes by STEAMING above the boiling water and you will have the best lobster you have ever tasted....to save for later- always freeze BEFORE cooking!!
and----obey the laws...... :cool:

Natalie Ann - 1-4-2008 at 07:36 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by beachbum1A
OMG, black market lobsters right here in Ensenada!! I wonder if that means you'll pay more than they're worth? Probably huh! But it sounds like it just might make for another interesting (and tastefull) experience here in Baja.

Actually... no, I'm generally unwilling to pay more for live lobster than it's worth. Shari's suggested price is about right, but on a good day a better price is sometimes offered.

Oh yes, try to purchase some of the other wonderful taste treats available at the Mercado Negro. Why limit a seafood fest to only lobster? :yes:

I can vouch for this "tasteful experience" of Baja.

Nena

DENNIS - 1-4-2008 at 07:44 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by bajadedom
- always freeze BEFORE cooking!!

I had a friend who was a restaurateur/lobster fisherman in Dana Point. He had lobster all over his menu and would par-boil the tails before freezing. Never ran out.

bajadedom - 1-4-2008 at 08:21 PM

Dana Point is at the edge of Lobsterville on the Pacific coast - and as a restaurant-teer he failed by freezing after boiling...I was a lobster-teer for 12+ years and could take a fresh frozen tail out of the freezer after 6 months and steam it with a 'just caught' tail and challenge you to tell the difference. I have NEVER eaten lobster in a restaurant as good as I do 'em, and as I explore the peninsula next year in search of a new home, I will find you in PB and prove it with one from the ice!! :cool:

Where Is the Mercado Negro?

Gypsy Jan - 1-6-2008 at 04:52 PM

I'm not looking to buy fresh lobster, the guys at our favoite seafood restaurants do it right and I don't have to do dishes (smile).

Is this the market on the seafront malecon or some other location?

Thanks for any info!

Natalie Ann - 1-6-2008 at 05:09 PM

Yep, Jan, the one on the seafront malecon it is.

Nena