James Beard's New Fish Cookery - James Beard [132]
Do not discard the green liver, or tomalley. It is delicious. In female lobsters you may find a pinkish red deposit — the roe — often called lobster coral. This is one of the choicest bits and can be eaten with the lobster or used in sauce.
The claws should be cracked with a nutcracker so the meat can be easily extracted at the table.
BROILED LIVE LOBSTER
This is one of the favorite dishes in the United States. Personally, I think it is rather dull and, unless superbly done with a wood or charcoal fire, not worth the money. However, here is the method.
Use a 11/2- or 2-pound lobster for each person. You can ask your fish dealer to split and clean the lobster. To do it yourself, first kill the lobster by inserting a sharp knife between the body and tail shells; this cuts the spinal cord. Then place the lobster on its back, and with a heavy sharp knife and mallet, split it. Cut right through the back shell separating the two halves. Remove the stomach and the intestinal vein that you will find running down the tail section close to the back. Leave the liver, which is the grayish-looking meat in the body cavity (it turns green after cooking). Butter each half lobster well. Have bowls of melted butter handy. You will need it during the cooking process and will serve it with the lobsters later. Preheat your broiler for 10 minutes.
Place your lobster halves on the broiler rack, flesh side to the heat, and broil until they are cooked through. Baste frequently with the melted butter. The cooking time should be about 12 to 15 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste and serve on very hot plates with plenty of melted butter and lemon wedges. Shoestring or French-fried potatoes are the accepted accompaniment.
LOBSTER À L’AMÉRICAINE
This is probably the most famous of all lobster dishes. It has been called by many names and was originally lobster Provençale, a dish native to the south of France where the people have used tomatoes in sauces for generations. It has also been called homard armoricaine by those who thought the dish originated in Armorique. It is now generally conceded that the first lobster à 1’Américaine, as we now know it, was prepared at the restaurant of Noel-Peters in the Passage de Prince in Paris — not a favorite spot today, but once exceedingly fashionable.
3 pounds lobster
1/2 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
6 shallots, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped
6 ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh, or 1 teaspoon dried, tarragon
11/2 teaspoons thyme
1/2 bay leaf
11/2 cups white wine
3 tablespoons tomato paste
Cayenne pepper
Salt
1/4 cup cognac
Wash the lobster(s) well. With a very sharp heavy knife cut medallions of the tail, cutting through the markings in the tail. Cut the body in half, clean it, and save the liver and coral, if any, for the sauce. Remove the claws.
Heat the olive oil and add the pieces of lobster. Toss them around in the oil until the shells have turned red and the meat is seared. Remove the meat and shells to a hot platter. Add the butter to the pan with the olive oil and sauté the onions and shallots until lightly colored. Add the garlic, tomatoes, herbs, and white wine and let it simmer for 30 minutes. Add the tomato paste and season to taste. Pour the cognac over the lobster pieces and ignite. Then put them in the sauce, cover, and simmer for about 20 minutes. At the last, stir in the liver and lobster coral.
Serve with a rice pilaf.
NOTE: The meat of the lobster may be removed from the shells before adding it to the sauce. If you do this, be sure to put the shells in for the added flavor they give to the sauce. Personally, I feel that taking lobster meat from the shell before serving makes no sense unless it is going into a tart, or soufflé, or