Lobster Rolls

Clawed lobsters comprise a family  of large marine crustaceans. They have long bodies with muscular tails and live in burrows on the sea floor. Three of their five pairs of legs have claws, including the first pair, which are usually much larger than the others.

Highly prized as seafood, lobsters are economically important and are often one of the most profitable commodities in the coastal areas they populate. Commercially important species include two species from the northern Atlantic Ocean. Although several other groups of crustaceans have the word “lobster” in their names, the unqualified term “lobster” generally refers to the clawed lobsters of the family Nephropidae. The closest living relatives of clawed lobsters are the reef lobsters and the three families of freshwater crayfish.

In North America, the lobster did not achieve popularity until the mid-19th century, when New Yorkers and Bostonians developed a taste for it. Commercial lobster fisheries only flourished after the development of the lobster smack, a custom-made boat with open holding wells on the deck to keep the lobsters alive during transport. Prior to this time, lobster was considered a mark of poverty or as a food for indentured servants or lower members of society in Maine, Massachusetts, and the Canadian Maritimes, and servants specified in employment agreements that they would not eat lobster more than twice per week. Lobster was also commonly served in prisons, much to the displeasure of inmates. American lobster was initially deemed worthy only of being used as fertilizer or fish bait, and it was not until well into the twentieth century that it was viewed as more than a low-priced canned staple food.

Lobster Rolls

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon Butter, softened
• 4 Hoagie Buns, split
• 4 Lettuce leaves
• 1 ½ pounds cooked and cubed Lobster meat
• 2 tablespoons Mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon Lime juice
• Dash Tabasco sauce
• 1 stalk Celery, finely chopped
• 2 Green Onions, chopped
• Pinch of Tarragon
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Lightly butter the insides of the buns or rolls and line with lettuce leaves. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, lime juice, hot pepper sauce, salt and pepper until well blended. Mix in the green onion and celery, then lightly mix in the lobster so it just gets coated without falling apart.

Place the lobster filling into the buns and sprinkle tarragon lightly over the filling.

Steaks with Lobster Béarnaise Sauce

Béarnaise sauce is a sauce made of clarified butter emulsified in egg yolks, white wine vinegar and flavored with herbs. It is considered to be a ‘child’ of the mother Hollandaise sauce, one of the five sauces in the French haute cuisine mother sauce repertoire. The difference is only in their flavoring: Béarnaise uses shallot, chervil, peppercorn, and tarragon, while Hollandaise uses lemon juice or white wine. Its name is related to the province of Béarn, France.

In appearance it is light yellow and opaque, smooth and creamy and Béarnaise is a traditional sauce for steak. Like Hollandaise sauce, there are several methods for the preparation of Béarnaise sauce. The most common preparation is a bain-marie method where a reduction of vinegar is used to acidify the yolks.

The sauce was likely first created by the chef Collinet, the inventor of puffed potatoes (pommes de terre soufflées), and served at the 1836 opening of Le Pavillon Henri IV, a restaurant at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, not far from Paris. Evidence for this is reinforced by the fact that the restaurant was named for Henry IV of France, a gourmet himself, who was born in the province of Béarn.

Steaks with Lobster Bernaise Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 –  2 1/3-pound live lobster
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted  Butter, divided
• 1 Shallot, sliced
• 2 Garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 dried red chile, such as Japones or de árbol
• 1/2 teaspoon Paprika
• 1/4 cup Sherry wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons chopped Shallot
• 1 tablespoon Capers, chopped
• 2 large Egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon fresh Lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon Water
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh Tarragon
• 6 – 1 1/4-inch-thick Steaks
• Coarse kosher Salt

Cook lobster in large pot of boiling salted water 13 minutes. Using tongs, transfer lobster to rimmed baking sheet. Cool slightly. Twist off claws; reserve for another use. Twist off tail. Scrape out any green tomalley. Using kitchen shears, cut body and legs into 2-inch pieces and place in medium bowl. Cut tail meat from shell; add shell to bowl with body and legs. Cut meat lengthwise into 4 strips, then crosswise into 1/4-inch pieces. Place meat in small bowl, cover, and chill.

Melt 1/2 cup butter in heavy large pot over medium-low heat. Add sliced shallot, garlic, and chile; cook until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Add lobster shell pieces and stir 5 minutes. Increase heat to medium. Add remaining 1/2 cup butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring until melted between additions. Add paprika; stir to blend. Strain butter into medium bowl, pressing on solids in strainer to release all butter. Discard solids in strainer. Let lobster butter cool to room temperature. (Lobster meat and butter can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover butter and chill. Return lobster butter to room temperature before continuing.)

Combine vinegar, chopped shallot, and capers in medium saucepan. Boil over high heat until almost all liquid evaporates, about 1 minute. Remove from heat. Whisk yolks, lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon water in medium bowl. Place bowl over saucepan of barely simmering water. Whisk constantly until mixture is thick, about 3 minutes. Turn off heat. Whisk in lobster butter in 6 additions. Whisk in shallot mixture and tarragon. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in reserved lobster meat. Season with salt and pepper. Keep lobster bèarnaise sauce over warm water.

Preheat broiler. Rub steaks with coarse kosher salt and pepper. Broil until cooked to desired doneness, about 6 minutes per side for medium-rare (5 minutes per side if boneless). Serve with lobster bèarnaise sauce.