Poached Lobsters Homards Poches Food

BUTTER POACHED LOBSTER SHOOTERS

Steps:

• Reserve 1 cup of clarified butter and try to keep warm.
• Place lobster tails in a large pot and cover with the remaining butter. Add 3 cloves of garlic to the pot. Poach on a low heat until the lobster shell changes color and meat is cooked. Allow to cool slightly and harvest meat from tails. Chop meat into bite-size pieces.
• While meat is still warm, assemble the shooters. In shot glass pour a bit of the reserved warm butter into each glass. Top with lobster meat and drizzle with a bit of the lemon juice.

POACHED LOBSTERS (HOMARDS POCHES)

Steps:

• Combine the water, vinegar, bay leaf, peppercorns, salt and lobsters in a kettle large enough to hold the lobsters comfortably. Cover closely.
• Bring to the boil over high heat. At the boiling point, let cook two minutes. Drain immediately.
• Cut the lobster crosswise in half at the point where the tail meets the body.

BUTTER-POACHED LOBSTER ROLLS WITH CELERY FENNEL SLAW

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
• Remove the claws and tails from the lobsters. Boil the tails for 1 minute and the claws for 4 minutes, then remove from the water. Immediately remove the meat from the shells and set aside.
• Add the oil to a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add and sweat the onions, garlic and bay leaves until the onions are translucent, about 3 minutes. Carefully add the vermouth and reduce until dry, about 2 minutes. Add the cream, then reduce by two-thirds, until thick. Slowly whisk in the pound of butter little by little until fully emulsified. Add the lobster tail and claw meat to the butter cream sauce and poach over low heat at 165 degrees F until cooked through, 7 to 10 minutes. Remove the lobster from the pan and allow to cool just to the touch. Rough chop and set aside.
• Add the mustard seeds, vinegar, sugar and 1 tablespoon kosher salt to a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Meanwhile, separate the celery into stalks. Using a Japanese mandoline, slice the celery into paper-thin strips. Cut the fennel bulb into quarters. Using the Japanese mandoline, slice the fennel bulb paper thin.
• In a medium bowl, toss the celery slices, fennel slices, mustard oil and 2 tablespoons pickled mustard seeds. Taste and adjust as desired with more mustard seeds. Keep cool until ready to serve.
• In a 12-inch cast-iron pan, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and griddle the buns, top side-down, over medium-high heat until golden brown.
• Open the buns and fill with spoonfuls of the lobster mixture. Top with a handful of the slaw and garnish with the reserved fennel fronds.

PERFECT POACHED LOBSTER

Steps:

• Fill a very large (18- to 20-quart) stockpot 3/4 full with water, add 2 tablespoons of salt, cover and bring to a full rolling boil. Immerse the lobsters in the water and cook for 10 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the middle of the underside of a tail registers 140 degrees F. (Don't worry if the water doesn't come back to a boil.) Remove the lobsters with tongs and set aside until cool enough to handle. Remove the lobster meat from the shell, including the claws.

POACHING LOBSTER

Steps:

• 1. First, kill the lobster, using one of the following methods: Bring a very large pot of water to a boil. Quickly add the lobster, cover, and blanch for 1 minute. Immediately take the lobster out of the pot. Or, place the lobster on a cutting board. Hold it firmly with your left hand (if you are right-handed) where the tail meets the head. With your right hand, hold a large knife vertically over the lobster, with the tip at the point where the vertical and horizontal creases in the lobster head intersect. Firmly and quickly thrust the knife straight through the head until the knife tip meets the cutting board, then cut downward, through the center of the head. The lobster will be dead immediately, though it may still move.
• 2. Twist off the claws where they join the body. Twist the tail away from the head (save the head and legs to make stock, if desired). To keep the tail straight, run a metal skewer lengthwise through the meat, slightly off center, nearest the underside of the tail. Wrap the tail very tightly in plastic wrap.
• 3. Bring several inches of water to a boil in a large, wide pot. Add the lobster tail (in the plastic wrap) and poach for 2 minutes. Add the claws and poach for 4 minutes more. Drain and set aside to cool.
• 4. To extract the lobster meat, twist apart the 2 sections of each claw. Hit the larger part of each claw against a work surface a few times then stand one on its side, with the jagged underside facing up. Strike the side of the claw with a large, heavy knife to crack it, then twist sideways with the knife until the shell splits open. Pull out the meat. Repeat with the other claw.
• 5. Use heavy kitchen shears to cut open and extract the meat from the smaller section of the claw. Cut off and discard the pink, fatty tip of the claws.
• 6. Press firmly on the back of the tail until you hear it crack. Cut through the shell on the underside of the tail and pull it apart to release the meat. Wrap the lobster meat in plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.