Very Best Monkeyed-Up Lobster Dish
Submitted by trebehc
Butter-tossed lobster tails in a bourbon and white wine cream sauce with sauteed shallots and morel mushrooms, plus bonus tomalley croustades with Gruyere.
YIELD
1 servingPREP
20 minCOOK
20 minREADY
40 minThis is a showstopper lobster dinner that doesn’t hold back. Whole lobsters get steamed, broken down, and the tail meat is tossed in hot butter before being draped in a rich cream sauce spiked with bourbon and white wine.
Shallots and morel mushrooms cook in that same lobster-infused butter, building layers of flavor that all come together in the finished sauce. The cream goes in while the heat stays high, so it reduces fast into something thick and glossy.
And then there’s the bonus round: tomalley croustades. Baguette rounds fried golden in butter, spread with a paste of lobster tomalley and heavy cream, topped with a whisper of grated Gruyere, and broiled until bubbling. They’re the kind of thing you serve to someone you’re trying to seriously impress.
Pro Tips
- Bigger lobsters (2+ pounds) need a few extra minutes past turning red. Don’t pull them early or the claw meat will be underdone.
- Keep the heat high when adding cream to the bourbon-wine reduction. This builds the sauce fast and keeps it from breaking.
- Have a helper working on claw and knuckle meat while you handle the tails. Timing is everything here, and lobster waits for nobody.
- Save every bit of roe you find. It adds color and briny richness to the finished sauce.
Variations
- Use cognac instead of bourbon for a more classic French-style sauce.
- Substitute chanterelles or cremini mushrooms if morels aren’t in season.
- Skip the croustades and serve over fresh pasta or rice pilaf for a more casual presentation.
Ingredients
Directions
Very best lobster dish: Steam 1 big lobster per person over sea water.
The really big ones (2+ lb.) aren’t done as soon as they turn red - let them cook a couple more minutes beyond that; little lobsters are ready as soon as they turn red.
Have an assistant remove the claw meat (keep whole) and whatever knuckle meat and roe (s)he can find while you take the tails and either (depending on their size) halve them lengthwise or cut them through the shell into slices.
Heat a big knob of butter in a big saucepan and toss the tail pieces in the hot butter for a minute.
Remove the tails to a hot platter.
Dump the shallots and mushrooms in the same butter and toss for a minute; then remove them to the same platter.
While the butter is still hot, add white wine and bourbon (Cognac will do); let cook down for 15 secs or so and then add cream, slowly and keeping the heat high.
While your assistant arranges the tails on individual plates, with the claws and maybe some watercress or parsley as garnish, keep an eye on the sauce as it thickens.
When the sauce is thick, add a little salt if you need it and dump in the onions, mushrooms, roe, and knuckle meat.
Pour sauce over lobster tails and serve at once.
Save the tomalley for: Tomalley croustades.
Fry rounds from a baguette or other very thin loaf in butter until they just begin to turn golden.
Drain on paper towels.
When they are cool, spread them with lobster tomalley mixed with heavy cream to make a thick paste.
You may grate a tiny bit of Gruyere or other Swiss-style cheese over each one.
Put under the broiler for a few seconds until the tops bubble.
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