Par Cooked Lobsters Food

PAR-COOKED LOBSTERS

Steps:

• Place lobsters in a container with tight-fitting lid. Cover with cold water, remove lobsters and measure water. Pour water into another large pot, and add 1 tablespoon vinegar for every quart of water. Boil.
• Return lobsters to lidded container. Pour the hot water over them, cover and steep 2 minutes for 1 1/2-pound lobsters, 3 minutes for 2-pound lobsters. Remove lobsters. Reserve water in container.
• Pull off lobster claws and knuckles, and return to hot water for 5 minutes. Twist off tails, and discard bodies.
• Snip through bottom sides of tail shells with shears. Remove meat. Discard shells. Cut tail meat in half lengthwise. Remove vein running through top of meat. Place meat on a platter lined with paper towel, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
• Remove claws from hot water. Twist off knuckles, and reserve. Hold claw, pull down on small pincer and pull it off. Use heavy shears to snip shell at knuckle end enough to open it; remove meat in one piece. Add to platter with tail meat.
• Use shears to snip through the knuckle shell, pry open and remove meat. Add to the platter.

PAN-ROASTED LOBSTERS

Steps:

• Kill the lobsters with a sharp-pointed knife plunged into the body behind the head.
• Remove the bands from the claws. Twist off the tails, and carefully split lengthwise. Twist the claws and knuckles off the bodies; separate the claws from the knuckles. Crack the claws a little using a sharp blow with the back of a knife. Split the bodies. Remove the intestinal tract from the tail meats. Arrange the lobsters in a single layer in an ovenproof baking dish, tail and body shells down. Sprinkle sea salt (preferably from Maine) and black pepper over the lobster meat, followed by a generous dressing with the olive oil.
• Preheat the oven to its hottest temperature setting. (See Cook's Note)
• In a non-reacting skillet filmed with a little melted butter, saute the mushrooms over high heat for 2 or 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
• Place the lobsters in the oven, and roast until the shells are almost uniformly red and the meat is opaque, as long as 7 or 8 minutes in a home oven.
• Remove the lobsters from the oven. Add the mushrooms and shallots. Pour the hard cider over the lobsters, and scatter the butter pieces around the dish. Place the lobsters back in the oven, and continue roasting, checking frequently, until the butter has completely melted, about 2 or 3 minutes. Swirl the pan to combine the liquid ingredients into a saucy emulsion. Check the seasonings and adjust with more sea salt and pepper if necessary. Serve the lobsters on dinner plates and spoon the sauce over them.

PAN-ROASTED LOBSTERS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Boil a small saucepan of water.
• Place the lobsters on a cutting board. Plunge a sharp, heavy-bladed knife into each lobster's head, just behind the eyes, and split the heads. The lobsters will be dead but may still move. Split each lobster in two lengthwise. Remove the black vein in the tail, the sandy sac in the head, the dark green egg sac and the liver from the chest cavity. Discard the eight small legs. Twist off the claws.
• Poach the claws in the boiling water for 3 minutes. Rinse under cold water and set aside. When the claws are cool enough to handle, crack them open and remove the meat, in one piece if possible, and in large chunks from the knuckles.
• Heat the skillets over medium-high heat and add 2 tablespoons oil to each. When the oil shimmers, add the lobsters shell side down. Move them around so the shell becomes red all over. After 3 minutes turn them over and sear the meat for another minute. Place pans in the oven for 3 minutes more.
• Carefully remove the pans from the oven and place the lobster halves, shell side down, on a platter.
• Add half the shallots to each pan and cook over medium-high heat for 1 minute. Working with one pan at a time, add half of the Cognac to each, and when the Cognac is warmed, carefully ignite it using a long match or a butane lighter. Have the lid ready to subdue the flames and avert your face while lighting the Cognac.
• When the flames are gone, stir to clean the pan of any lobster cooking bits. Pour the liquid from one pan into the other, and place the pan with the liquid over medium heat. Add white wine, the claw meat, the tarragon and chives. Boil to reduce liquid slightly. Add the butter pieces one at a time, and whisk until each is just melted before adding the next one. Keep the liquid just under boiling so the sauce doesn't separate.
• Season the sauce with salt and pepper. Add the claw meat to the chest cavities, and spoon the emulsion over the lobster. Serve immediately.