Lobster Newburg

Lobster newburg is the kind of dish that sounds like it should take all afternoon, but this microwave version gets it on the table in half an hour. Two lobster tails steam in a covered dish, then get folded into a sherry-spiked cream sauce thickened with egg yolks. Classic old-school surf turned weeknight-friendly.

The sauce is simple enough: butter, flour, salt, and a whisper of cayenne form the base. Cream whisked with egg yolks goes in gradually and cooks through slowly, stirred occasionally so it doesn’t break. Lemon juice and a splash of dry sherry go in at the end, keeping the wine’s aroma intact.

Serve it over buttered rice or crisp toast points. The sauce should cling, not soak, so toast points in particular hold up beautifully without turning soggy.

Chef Tips

• Cook the lobster tails just until the flesh turns opaque. Overdone lobster turns tough and won’t soften again when it hits the sauce.
• Temper the yolk mixture carefully. Pour a few spoonfuls of the hot flour mixture into the cream and yolks first, whisking fast, so the eggs don’t scramble in the pan.
• Stir the sauce every minute or so in the microwave. Left unattended it forms a skin on top and cooks unevenly underneath.
• Add the sherry off the heat. Cooking it down drives off the wine aroma that defines newburg.
• Season with cayenne lightly. A pinch brings warmth; more and it overwhelms the delicate sweetness of the lobster.

Variations

• Swap the lobster for cooked shrimp or a mix of shrimp and scallops for a mixed-seafood newburg.
• Stir in a tablespoon of tomato paste with the flour for a rosier, tomato-tinted newburg in the classic early 1900s style.
• Serve in baked puff-pastry shells for a retro dinner-party presentation.