keeping a lobster alive

[DrPizza]

Question: How can I keep a lobster alive for about 10 hours in a backpack. It's anticipated that it'll be cold outside.

Background: I do some backpacking with a couple other teachers on occasion. I'm "legendary" for what I'll pack in on an overnight trip. I don't mind an extra 5 or 10 pounds if it's worth it for some sort of comfort that seems way out of the ordinary.

For example: last summer's backpacking trip & kayaking down the Pine Creek Gorge in PA (only a mile hike to our campsite, but it was uphill, carrying a kayak. That part sucked.) Dinner & Breakfast: Teacher 1: spam & crackers, granola mix, instant oatmeal. Teacher 2: Some sort of instant food, just add water, dry cereal, and "splurged" by having instant coffee. Me: bacon wrapped filet mignon, corn on the cob, mountain pies; pancakes and bacon w/ real maple syrup, coffee.

So, when we do our next trip (weekend before Christmas, overnight in the snow; temperatures anywhere from 10 to 30 degrees), I need to outdo myself. I'm thinking surf & turf, warm apple pie with vanilla ice cream. Breakfast - the usual - bacon, eggs, pancakes, coffee. How do I keep a lobster alive long enough? More dramatic to boil a live lobster 5 miles from the nearest road than it is to cook a frozen lobster tail.

 

[olds]

Lobster alive and ice cream frozen...
How long is the hike in?

 

[FoBoT]

i think the only way it might work is in a 5 gallon bucket, just carrying it in hand, not in the backpack

 

[joesmoke]

walk it there on a leash?

but seriously, thats pretty cool if you can pull it off.

 

[DrPizza]

It's supposed to only be a 5 mile hike in, but leaving around 5:30am; wasn't figuring on dinner til mid to late afternoon.

 

[DrPizza]

On ice, how long do they stay alive out of water? (I've had some from the store that have lasted several hours - no clue what the max is.)

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

Should be doable.

Realistically you can get live lobster overnighted, and while I've never ordered one, it has to be shipped in some sort of watertight container of small enough size to ship efficiently.

http://www.lobsters.org/ldoc/ldocpage.php?did=420

http://www.ehow.com/how_5035790_ship-live-lobsters.html

 

[Capt Caveman]

If it's cold enough, having it wrapped in wet newspaper should be doable for ten hours.

 

[DrPizza]

Getting the live lobster isn't a problem - grocery store nearby carries them all the time.

 

[Leros]

im more concerned about the icecream

 

[DrPizza]

To keep lobsters alive during shipping there are two things that are required; they must remain cool and moist. Lobster deaths during shipping are most commonly caused by oxygen deprivation. The cooler a lobster is, the less oxygen it uses. The gills on a lobster must remain moist to work properly. Be sure not do submerge them, a lobster in fresh water that is too cold can swell up and burst. If handled properly a hard-shelled lobster can live out of the water for up to five days.

Thank you Mikey! Live lobster at camp, here I come!

 

[DangerAardvark]

Hook it up to a butter and lemon sauce IV.

 

[DrPizza]

Can anyone think of a way to possibly top this while out backpacking? I don't know anyone with a helicopter, so I can't pre-arrange to later pretend to phone in a pizza order & have it delivered.

 

[El Guaraguao]

Hook it up to a butter and lemon sauce IV.

This.

DangerAardvark, did I make your day by quoting you?

 

[Savarak]

Can anyone think of a way to possibly top this while out backpacking? I don't know anyone with a helicopter, so I can't pre-arrange to later pretend to phone in a pizza order & have it delivered.

You can bring bread flour, water, salt, sugar, and yeast to make your own pizza with all the toppings like cheese, pepperoni, sausage, tomato sauce, spices.. all easily carry-able.. all you need is a large piece of foil and something flattish(stone, or flatten out some coals) to lay it on. Or better yet, just bring a 12" pizza pan

 

[Crono]

Can anyone think of a way to possibly top this while out backpacking? I don't know anyone with a helicopter, so I can't pre-arrange to later pretend to phone in a pizza order & have it delivered.

If you could somehow construct a gourmet meal from the natural surroundings, that would take the cake.

For instance, if you somehow found truffles, a wild boar, some apples, perfect wild grapes, etc, and magically pulled out an assembled table with fancy tablecloth, chairs, and cutlery, I think you could whip together a pretty fancy meal with just a fire pit and some seasonings.

 

[Crono]

You can bring bread flour, water, salt, sugar, and yeast to make your own pizza with all the toppings like cheese, pepperoni, sausage, tomato sauce, spices.. all easily carry-able.. all you need is a large piece of foil and something flattish(stone, or flatten out some coals) to lay it on.

He would certainly prove his user name by doing that

 

[DrPizza]

He would certainly prove his user title by doing that

No I wouldn't - if I had sugar. Excellent pizza dough does not require sugar. Just time.

 

[Bibble]

Can anyone think of a way to possibly top this while out backpacking? I don't know anyone with a helicopter, so I can't pre-arrange to later pretend to phone in a pizza order & have it delivered.

Perhaps this is cheating, but if you have a chef (with all of the tools/ingredients he needs) waiting for you at your campsite that would be pretty sick. Maybe set up a table for one and have him just finish cooking as you arrive.

 

[DangerAardvark]

This.

DangerAardvark, did I make your day by quoting you?

No, you made my day by capitalizing the "A" in aardvark.

 

[Crono]

No I wouldn't - if I had sugar. Excellent pizza dough does not require sugar. Just time.

True. I never use sugar for pizza dough. Enough sugar in the dough, anyway.

 

[Regs]

True. I never use sugar for pizza dough. Enough sugar in the dough, anyway.

I like a little cornmill on my dough.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Bring a blow torch and cook up some hamburgers lol.

Actually, how do you plan to cook the lobster anyway?

 

[KillerCharlie]

True. I never use sugar for pizza dough. Enough sugar in the dough, anyway.

It's for feeding the yeast, not sweetening, and in some recipes it definitely helps.

 

[DrPizza]

Bring a blow torch and cook up some hamburgers lol.

Actually, how do you plan to cook the lobster anyway?

The normal way? Boil water, drop lobster in water. Wait til he's done cooking, serve with melted butter?