Lobster with a Shallot, Rosemary, Garlic and White Wine Butter Sauce
Today and tomorrow, Saturday June 12th, Citarella on the Upper West Side is celebrating National Lobster Day with an amazing deal: live lobsters for $4.99/lb! Though I’m a bit spoiled, and I eat a lot of lobster in the summertime since I have my own traps out in Long Island Sound (and let me tell you…Long Island Sound lobsters are SUPERB. I’d eat them over a Maine lobster any day, but I digress) I had to take advantage of the sale for dinner tonight.
One of my favorite ways to eat lobster is to bisect them and cook them in a pan with butter, white wine, shallots, garlic, rosemary, and crushed red pepper. The lobster juices infuse with the sauce, which is served along with the lobster for dipping. A little squeeze of lemon at the end, and you’ve got the best lobster you’ve had in your life. But don’t take my word for it…go out and get some lobsters and give it a try!
My friend Patrick Horsman introduced me to this method of cooking lobsters about 5 years ago on Cape Cod. It was amazing, and still remains my favorite way to eat lobster. The method of dispatching the lobsters is unfortunately not for the faint of heart, but take comfort in the fact that the lobster is killed quickly and humanely in this manner, instead of slowly being boiled to death in a pot of water.
Lobster with a Shallot, Rosemary, Garlic, and White Wine Butter Sauce (serves 4)
Ingredients:
- 4 lobsters (between 1 and 1-1/2 lbs)
- 2 sticks of salted butter
- 4 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- 4 shallots, peeled and minced
- 2 T chopped fresh rosemary
- 2 tsp crushed red pepper (add more if you like more heat)
- 1/2 cup dry white wine (I usually use a Sauvignon Blanc)
- 1 lemon, cut into wedges (for a spritz of lemon juice to finish)
Procedure:
First off, you will need two large pans to cook the lobster in, or you can do it in batches and keep the first half warm in some foil. Either one will work, but I prefer the two-skillet method because it takes half as long. If you are using two skillets, divide all of your ingredients in half and follow the recipe accordingly.
Once you have all of your ingredients chopped and prepped, and your pans are heated up (over medium low heat) it’s time to deal with the lobsters. Take a deep breath, build some courage, and proceed. You will need your largest, sharpest knife to bisect the lobster. Start with your knife blade pointing toward the front of the lobster, and plunge it directly into the head above and between the eyes. Don’t be shy.
Plunge:
Pull down to cut through the brain and kill the lobster. They are very tenacious, so they will wriggle a lot, but you just have to get over that part and get on with the procedure. Turn the lobster around, and cut straight down through the middle of the head and the tail.
You will have two halves of a lobster.
Using a mallet, hammer, frying pan, or the back of your chef’s knife, crack each of the claws a couple of times to allow the steam and juices to penetrate the claw and facilitate the cooking process. Place the lobster halves in a bowl until they are all ready to go.
Melt the butter in your skillet, and add the garlic and shallots. Cook for 3-4 minutes to soften. Add the rosemary, crushed red pepper, and white wine, and stir well. Place the lobster, meat-side down, in the skillets. Cover (if possible…it’ll still work if you can’t, but it will take longer) and cook for 15-18 minutes, until the whole lobster has turned a deep red. (You may need to flip them over to give the shell side some skillet time.) The juices of the lobster will mingle with the butter sauce, and will create a wonderful accompaniment to the dish. If the sauce starts to get dry during cooking, be liberal with the wine and extra butter to keep a nice sauce going.
Flipped
When cooked, remove from the pans and plate 1 whole lobster per person, and finish with a quick squeeze of lemon. Pour the sauce from the pans into ramekins for dipping, and serve with your favorite side. I like to eat lobster with steamed corn on the cob finished with butter, salt, pepper, and chili powder.
Thanks to Brooke from Edible Humor for being my photographer on this post!
Enjoy!
