To serve cold, boil for about 15 minutes, remove the kettle from heat, and leave the lobsters in the cooling water for another 15 minutes. Remove from the kettle, cool, then chill before serving. Serve as described above, substituting mayonnaise for melted butter.
Many lobster dishes call for cooked lobster meat, in which case follow directions for boiled lobster to be served cold. As soon as the lobsters are cool enough to handle, split them, crack and open up the claws, and remove the meat from the shells.
Lobster Cardinal
Boil 3 lobsters (1 1/2 to 2 pounds each), split lengthwise, and remove the claws. Crack the claws and remove the meat. Remove everything from the shells and turn them upside down to dry. Cut the lobster meat in pieces. Prepare 2 cups sauce Nantua (see GOURMET, October 1948) and spread a thin layer of it in the bottom of each shell. Heat the lobster meat in a little butter, add some sauce to it, and spoon into the shells. Cover the tops with the remaining sauce mixed with 2 tablespoons whipped cream, sprinkle with a little grated Parmesan cheese, and brown under a hot broiler flame.
Currie de Homard à l'Indienne (Curried Lobster)
Make a curry sauce with cream as follows: Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a saucepan, add 1 onion, chopped, and sauté until it turns golden. Add 1 bay leaf, 1/2 teaspoon thyme, 4 tablespoons curry powder, and 1 green apple that has been peeled and chopped. Mix all together, add 1 pint white stock or water and cook very slowly, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour, or until reduced to about half the original quantity. Strain through a fine sieve. (This can be made and kept in the refrigerator.) Make 1 1/2 cups cream sauce (see GOURMET, January 1948), fish velouté (see GOURMET, May, September 1948), or white wine sauce (see GOURMET, October 1948), whichever is most convenient, add 1/4 cup (more for a sharper curry) of the curry mixture, mix well, and bring to the boil, adding a little milk if the sauce is too thick. Remove the meat from 2 or 3 boiled lobsters and cook gently in a saucepan for 5 minutes with 1 tablespoon butter and a generous 1/2 cup sherry. Add the boiling sauce and serve with rice.
Homard Diable (Deviled Lobster)
Split 3 boiled lobsters lengthwise and remove the claws. Crack the claws and remove the meat. Remove everything from the shells and turn upside down to dry. Cut the lobster meat in small pieces, place in a saucepan with 2 tablespoons butter, and keep hot. Prepare 2 1/2 cups Mornay sauce (see GOURMET, September 1948) and add 1 teaspoon English mustard mixed with enough water to make a paste. Add the lobster meat to 2 cups sauce, bring to a boil, season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and a little pepper, and fill the well-dried shells. Mix the remaining 1/2 cup Mornay sauce with 2 tablespoons whipped cream and spread over the tops. Sprinkle with a little grated Parmesan cheese and brown in a broiler.
Lobster Xavier
Lobster Xavier is prepared in the same way as deviled lobster, omitting the addition of dry mustard.
Lobster Stew
Remove the meat from 3 boiled lobsters and cut in small dice. Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a saucepan, add the lobster meat and a generous 3/4 cup sherry. Simmer for 5 minutes, add 3 cups medium-thick cream or half milk and cream, and bring just to the boil. Correct the seasoning with salt and pepper and serve with crackers. If a thicker stew is preferred, add beurre manié, made by creaming together 1 1/2 tablespoons butter and 1 1/2 teaspoons flour.
Lobster Croquettes
Chop the meat from 2 boiled lobsters very fine and heat in 1 tablespoon butter. Mix together 2 cups thick béchamel sauce (see GOURMET, September 1948) and if available 2 tablespoons thick sauce américaine (see GOURMET, January 1949), add 4 slightly beaten egg yolks, and heat over a low flame until well blended. Add the lobster and spread the mixture in a flat, buttered dish. Chill. Form into croquettes, roll in flour, dip in 2 eggs beaten with 1/2 cup milk and 2 tablespoons salad oil, and finally coat with fine bread crumbs. Sauté in butter or fry in deep, hot fat until brown. Serve with cream sauce, sauce américaine, or tomato sauce (see GOURMET, January 1949).
Many of the famous lobster dishes are not made by starting with the meat from boiled lobsters, but require cutting the live lobster up before cooking it. The claws are removed and cracked so they will be easy to open to remove the meat. The body, which consists of two sections, head and tail, is split at the juncture of the two parts and the tail section cut in three or four thick slices. The head part is usually split lengthwise to remove the tomalley, or liver, for thickening the sauce, and the intestinal line and sac in the head are removed and discarded. Although there is nothing much that is edible in the head section, it is cooked with the other parts because it gives flavor to the sauce.
Probably the most famous of this type of dish is one that originated many years ago in Brittany and is called variously lobster à l'armoricaine and lobster à l'américaine. The first is the correct name, because it stems from Armorique, which Brittany was called when France was known as Gaul. It has long been as popular in Parisian restaurants as in Brittany inns, and American tourists, thinking perhaps that it referred to America, have always called it américaine, which is the name it gets in restaurants in this country.
Lobster à l'Armoricaine
Remove and crack the claws of 2 live lobsters (1 3/4 to 2 pounds each). Cut the tail section from the body and cut the tail crosswise in 3 or 4 slices. Split the body section in two lengthwise, remove the tomalley (liver), and set it aside. Season the lobster with salt and sauté in 1/4 cup very hot olive oil. Make a mirepoix bordelaise as follows: Put 1 tablespoon butter in a saucepan, add 1 carrot, finely chopped, and 1 small onion, finely chopped, and cook until lightly browned. Add a little thyme, a bay leaf, and a sprig parsley. When the lobsters have started to turn red (5 to 7 minutes), remove and place with the mirepoix. Add 1 tablespoon butter, 2 shallots, chopped (or a little chopped onion), and 1/2 cup (4 ounces) dry white wine. Sprinkle 1/4 cup brandy over and ignite. When the flame has died down, add 1/2 cup tomato sauce (see GOURMET, January 1949) or tomato purée, 1/2 cup fish stock or white wine, 1 clove crushed garlic, and, if available, 3 fresh tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped. Cover tightly and cook for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the lobster and take the meat from shells. Strain the sauce and thicken as follows: Crush the tomalley and cream it with 2 tablespoons butter and 2/3 teaspoon flour. Add a little crushed garlic and, if available, some finely chopped chervil and tarragon. Combine with the sauce and reheat but do not allow to boil. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve very hot with boiled rice.
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