My 30th birthday is coming up, and I’ve decided that I want to try cooking lobster thermidor to celebrate the occasion. I’ll be working from Julia Child’s recipe in a cookbook I’ve had lying around for years (with a few modifications as noted below) - it’s very elaborate, and rich, and sounds utterly delicious. I’ve never done any cooking with lobster before, so I have a few questions that need answering before I do my shopping, and so I turn to the Dope for advice.
I plan on using lobster tails instead of whole lobsters, because I find the idea of buying a live animal specifically to kill it too squicky even for an unabashed carnivore such as I. I know that lobster tails are typically labeled by weight - 4 oz., 6 oz., 8 oz., etc. Is that the weight of just the meat, or the entire tail including the shell? If the latter, what’s the ratio of meat to shell in the weight? I’m assuming that one 8 oz. tail per person should be a decent serving size - is that about correct, or should I buy an extra tail or two?
When boiling the lobster tails at the start of the recipe, will I need to do anything different to account for the fact that I’m just using tails as opposed to the whole animal - reduce the cooking time or such?
The recipe calls for the shell (or tail, in this case) to be split in half so the meat can be stuffed into it for the final broiling and presentation. What’s the best way to split the tail neatly? Will a pair of scissors do the trick, or am I going to need some more fanciful tool?
Not specifically a lobster-related question, but at several points in Child’s recipe she instructs the cook to “film” a sauce with a tablespoon of cream. I’ve never seen that particular term used in a recipe before - what does it entail?
What side dish would you recommend? I was thinking a Caesar salad would work well.
I’ve never bought frozen lobster tails but I can tell you that the shell weighs comparatively little so most of that will be meat. In fresh lobster, bigger does not always mean better so I would do a little research re taste vs size. I’d plan on a few side dishes.
Have never boiled lobster tails alone but I know it is possible to microwave them in the shell (They’re also good deep-fried on a stick.) Hopefully someone here have a suggestion re cooking times because overcooking will ruin them.
Crack the tail by bending it over backwards and squeezing the sides together. But the underside shell is very thin, thin enough to cut with scissors if you want to be neat.
I wanna say that Alton Brown baked his lobster tails on an episode of Good Eats. Anyway, not sure if that will fit your recipe, but it seems pretty simple.
Okay, tails will come frozen, or have been previously frozen and thawed. These are tails from spiny lobsters that don’t have big claws and mostly come from the South Pacific. They won’t be as tasty as fresh Maine lobster, but the choice is yours. Best to let them thaw in the fridge before cooking, otherwise the cooking will end up toughening the meat. Best way to cook them is steaming. Even if you are going to stuff them and bake them to finish, start with steam. Put a wooden skewer through the tail to straighten it out. Steam for about 6 minutes if you’ll continue cooking them some other way. About ten minutes to get done. But it will depend on the size of the tail. I’d say those numbers are about right for an 8 oz. tail. You can boil them also for about the same amount of time, but that tends to toughen the meat. Since the tail is mostly meat you might get as much as 7 oz. of meat from an 8 oz. tail. For a whole lobster you only get about half the weight in meat. Heavy scissors will work to split the tail from underneath. Poultry shears would work better if you want to split the top. The difference would only be appearance. For a large tail, you might need a cleaver to split the top. I’m not sure what the film sauce is, but a baked or broil shell will take on a chalky appearance if dry. A coat of oil or butter will give it a bright orange color that is more appetizing, so that may be what the film sauce is about.
My suggestion for stuffed tails or whole lobsters: Steam the lobster about 75% of cooking time. Cooking time by weight should be the same for either whole or tails. Turn off the pot and let the steam out, recover and leave the lobster in the pot. It will continue to cook some, without getting tough. Cook the stuffing, it should have white wine in it. Split the tail (and body and claws for whole lobsters), stuff, coat with melted butter, and broil to brown the stuffing and finish cooking. You can put more melted butter on the shell to improve the color after it’s done.
My favorite stuffing is a mix of onion, bread crumb, shrimp and scallops. Lightly saute the shrimp, scallops, and onion in olive oil. Add white wine and breadcrumbs, along with your favorite seasonings. I usually go with black and red pepper, dill, and parsley. But add anything you like. If you want to crabmeat stuffing, avoid the very dense premade stuff.
Note: If you boil or steam a whole lobster, put it in the pot face first.
(They’re also good deep-fried on a stick.) Hopefully someone here have a suggestion re cooking times because overcooking will ruin them.