Preparation

A day or two before the lobster bake, take the aluminum garbage cans and scrub them with a mixture of half a gallon of warm water and a box of baking soda. After this fill the cans about a third full and bring to heat on the burner to test for leaks, keep the lids on to bring to a boil. If the cans leak there are sealers you can purchase at a hardware store. Apply this to the outside of the seams as this is where the leak will occur. O.K. That was a pain in the neck, now for the fun parts:

Day of the Bake:

This concept is based on "bundles" or packets of base food. Get some of your friends to help in the preparation (Open the beer!) and take a two foot square of aluminum foil and place a piece of linguica, pork link, potato, onion, corn and chicken if you are using it on the foil and seal into a bundle. Pierce the bundle with a fork two or three times.

Place a one inch layer of corn shucks in the bottom of each can. Place the bundles neatly on top of the corn shucks in the prepare garbage cans. Half in each. Place the cans on the burners and add the water and wine to each pot evenly.

Turn the heat on a and bring to a boil, reduce heat to just below boiling and steam for two hours. Add additional liquid if required. During this time scrub the clams and drink beer.

At the end of two hours place the clams and the lobsters in the cans on top of the bundles. Steam for an additional thirty minutes or so until the lobsters are red and cooked.

When the lobsters are cooked, pour the lobsters, and clams carefully into a large container. Pour the liquid from the containers over them (this is the best part). Dig out the bundles and distribute to everyone along with the lobsters, clams, corn and bowls of broth.

Serve plenty of fresh bread along with this as the liquor from the cans is heaven! This is some work but the idea is to get some friends together, share the expense and work and have an extravaganza!