One of the joys of living on an island like Jersey is the seafood, I mean we have the Jersey Royal potato, fantastic vegetables but really it is all about the seafood and how. Faced with the choice of briny Royal Bay of Grouville oysters, plump sweet mussels fresh from the sea, fat diver caught scallops, where do I start? The undoubted stars of the seafood show are freshly caught crab and lobster. I waiver between them both sometimes favouring a big slice of rich crab tart or a hand-picked crab salad and at others a regal lobster supper. I’m kind of the side of lobster at the moment so I thought I would share how to prepare a delicious lobster.
In America, the Lobster is very often simply broiled ( grilled ) with oodles and oodles of butter on the side, to dip the succulent cooked lobster meat in, and it comes with a warning about Cardiac arrests. Equally popular is the fabulously addictive lobster roll with creamy mayonnaise and fresh dill. Around the world, the lobster, when treated with care, stir-fried, grilled and baked in amazing recipes is a seafood sensation. There are, however, still a certain class of restaurant where only a small number of ways to serve lobster are contemplated, in the classic sauces Newburg, American and Thermidor. Each of these blockbuster, in-your-face recipes in the right hands can be an amazing dining experience but they can be much maligned. I am at heart a big fan of enjoying the delicate flavour of lobster as unadorned as possible and simply poached.
This, however, is not a simple matter, the purist would have you boil the lobster in sea water, this is not always easy or even safe. The alternative is fresh water with added sea salt (add 25 gr of natural sea salt per litre of water). My own choice is in a court bullion which is an ideal cooking medium for poaching fish, seafood and chicken. I have adapted my recipe from Richard Onley’s, ‘The French Menu Cookbook’, a recently reprinted classic and thoroughly good read. If you cannot get your hands on a Jersey lobster I thoroughly recommend Cornish as a great alternative.
For 1 or 2 750 gr / 1 kg Lobsters
4 Litres of cold Water
1 Large glass White Wine
3 Large Shallots, peeled and chopped
1 Medium Stick of Celery, chopped
1 Medium Carrot, peeled and chopped
White of 1 Leek, thoroughly washed and sliced
½ Bulb of Fennel, washed and sliced
1 Bay Leaf
1 Sprig fresh Thyme
1 Sprig Tarragon
8-10 fresh Parsley Stems
½ teaspoon Black Peppercorns, crushed
1 Lemon, halved
Place all the ingredients in a very, very large pan, cover and bring to the boil. Add the lobsters and bring back to the boil and simmer for eight to ten minutes. Using a spider remove the lobsters and plunge in lots of iced water to arrest any further cooking.
Today’s top tip is when poaching lobsters place them in your freezer ten minutes prior to cooking, this will sedate the lobsters sufficiently to allow you easily drop them in your boiling pan without the lobsters thrashing about and splashing you with scolding hot liquid.
Remove the lobsters and set aside to drain. Place a chopping board on a damp kitchen cloth to prevent it from slipping. Place the lobster on the board and hold firmly by the tail. Find the cross on top of the lobsters back and using a large cooks knife cut through the shell towards the head. Turn the lobster around to then cut through the tail.
The slushy material in the head cavity can be washed out and the shells thoroughly washed. Along the tail meat is a small dark tube, through which the lobster removes waste. Carefully pick out the tube. Reverse the tails by taking them out and placing in the opposite shell. Then using a cleaned board, you can break out the claw meat. Using a fine crochet hook or lobster pick remove the two smaller pieces of lobster. Holding the tip of the claw tightly between finger and thumb crack open the claw using the flat back edge of a large cook’s knife.
Remove the rubber band and pull down on the smaller claw, it will come off pulling with a small transparent membrane. This allows you to remove the lobster claw meat. Fill the empty head cavity with the picked lobster meat. You can serve the lobster with the claw in the cracked shell if you wish, or simply halved with a lobster claw and pick.
