Lobster - Premium Seafood

Novice cooks can substitute bottled clam juice or stock made from powdered fish bouillon.

• 4 cups (1 L) fish stock (recipe follows) 4 tbsp (60 mL) butter
• 4 tbsp (60 mL) all-purpose flour
• 1/8 tsp (0.5 mL) nutmeg
• salt and white pepper to taste
• 4 large potatoes, peeled and cut in large dice
• 4 tbsp (60 mL) butter (2nd amount)
• ½ cup (125 g) chopped onion
• ½ cup (125 g) chopped celery
• 1lb (500 g) lobster meat
• 3 oz (100 g) salmon fillet, in small chunks
• 3 oz (100 g) sole or haddock fillets, in small chunks
• 4 oz (125 g) shrimp, shelled
• ½ lb (225 g) mussels, steamed and shelled
• 1 cup (250 mL) heavy cream (35% M.F.)

Place fish stock in a large pot and heat to a simmer. Combine butter and flour to make a paste. Whisk butter mixture into hot stock, bring to a boil and cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper; set aside.

Cook potato cubes gently in salted water until just tender. Drain and reserve.

Melt second amount of butter in a skillet and saute onion and celery until soft. Stir in all of the seafood and simmer 3 minutes. Combine seafood and reserved potatoes with thickened fish stock and adjust seasonings, if necessary. Add cream and bring to serving temperature. Do not boil.

Serves 4-6.

Fish Stock

• 6 cups (1.5 L) water
• 1 lb (450 g) fish bones
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 whole cloves
• 1 medium onion, peeled

Place water and fish bones in a large kettle. Stick bay leaf and cloves into onion and add to pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes. Strain.

Delectable salad garnished with oven-dried strawberries.

• 2 whole lobsters (1 Ib/500 g each) 8 large strawberries, quartered
• ¼ cup (60 mL) balsamic vinegar
• 1 lb (500 g) fingerling or baby potatoes, halved
• 1 shallot, sliced
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• ½ tsp (2 mL) salt
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ tsp (2 mL) crushed black pepper olive oil
• ½ cup (125 mL) mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp (15 mL) grainy mustard Y2 lemon, juiced
• chopped chives, as garnish

Cook lobsters in boiling salted water for 10 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold running water. Remove lobster from shell, being careful to keep claws intact. Chop lobster tail meat into 1-inch (3-cm) pieces and refrigerate.

Preheat oven to 250°F (120°C). Toss strawberry quarters with balsamic vinegar and spread on a baking sheet. Bake until dried and slightly wrinkled, about 40 minutes. Cool and reserve.

Place potatoes, shallot, garlic, thyme, bay leaf, salt and pepper in a saucepan and add enough olive oil to cover potatoes. Bring to a slow simmer and cook until potatoes are tender. Cool potatoes in the oil, then drain.

Remove bay leaf and thyme sprigs.

While potatoes are cooling, combine mayonnaise, mustard and lemon juice. To serve, toss potatoes with mayonnaise and reserved lobster meat. Divide among four plates and top each salad with a lobster claw.

Garnish with strawberries and chopped chives.

Serves 4.

To Buy

Lobsters may be purchased live, or freshly cooked, in the shell. For both live and cooked, the tail section should spring back into a curled position after being straightened out.

When purchased live, they should show lively movement. Lobsters that show no movement when handled and have a tail that hangs down straight are dead and should be discarded. When handling live lobster, be careful of the claws (if they have any) as they can give you a severe pinch. To protect the handler and to prevent the lobsters from harming each other in captivity, the claws are usually immobilized by placing an elastic band around them.

When buying cooked lobster, check that they are a bright red-orange color and have a fresh aroma.

To Store

Live lobster should never be placed in fresh water or on ice. Under ideal cool, damp storage conditions, lobster can live out of water for up to 36 hours. They can be stored in your refrigerator for several hours by placing them in a large container covered with damp newspaper or seaweed. Cooked lobster in the shell can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days if placed in a tightly covered container. Shucked lobster. meat can be refrigerated for 2-3 days.

Live lobster should never be frozen but cooked lobster freezes well. For best results, the cooked meat should be removed from the shell and placed in plastic containers or freezer bags. Prepare a brine solution of 20z/50g salt to each 4 cups/1 litre of fresh water. Pour this over the lobster so that all the meat is covered and a 1/2in/lcm headspace remains.

Whole cooked lobster can be frozen in individual heavy plastic bags. Place the lobster in the bag, being careful that the sharp shell does not puncture the bag, cover with a brine solution, then cover tightly and freeze. To thaw lobster, place in the refrigerator and allow 18 hours for defrosting. To speed up defrosting time, place the package under cold running water until thawed.

To Cook

To cook live lobster, the most humane way is to place the lobster in the freezer then simmer it as you would a crab. Lobster should be cooked either in clean sea water or salted fresh water.

Lobster will cook in 12-20 minutes, depending on size. Drain immediately and serve hot or chill quickly by dipping in cold water.

To Clean

Hold the lobster right-side-up on a firm surface. Pierce the shell at the center of the body, behind the head (step 1).

Cut the lobster in half lengthwise and remove and discard the sac near the head, and the intestinal vein in the tail. Remove any roe from the body and reserve for flavoring sauces (step 2).

Clean the lobster by rinsing under cold, running water (step 3).