Lobster Thermidor
Lobster is a special occasion dish. And a French style Lobster Thermidor takes the occasion up to a whole other level. It’s so decadent and so rich, it’s probably a once a year treat. But oh so worth it! Our adventure was a total test, as we’d never made Lobster Thermidor before. Our version is pretty much Julia Child’s version with a few modifications. Unlike some of her other recipes, it was not particularly hard to make, it just had a lot of steps. Great for an occasion to stay home and cook together!
Lobster Thermidor is very similar to another French dish, Lobster Newburg. The difference is in the sauce, in that Lobster Thermidor is a thicker sauce and Lobster Newburg uses egg yolks. Lobster Thermidor dates back to the late 1800’s where it was served to French Royalty.
Get the best, freshest lobster.
It’s a special occasion after all, so splurge. On this night we had two lobsters that weighed about 2lbs. each. They will be live until you cook them, so time well. They can be placed in a sink or a cooler, but not in water or loose ice. Wrap in newspaper and place cold packs around them until ready to cook.
Start by rough chopping the veggies for the lobster boil water.
Bring the vegetables and herbs to a simmer for 15 minutes. Then bring to a full boil and add the lobsters. Cook, tightly covered, for 20 minutes.
The lobsters are done when they are nice bright red color.
While the lobsters are cooking, start the mushroom sauce. Use any kind of mushrooms you’d like. We wanted to use something different so we used oyster and cremini. Slice into small pieces.
Stew the Mushrooms
This is a traditional French technique we don’t see used much anymore. Place the mushrooms with butter, lemon juice and salt and simmer, covered for 10 minutes.
Remove the lobsters from the cooking juices, set aside until cool enough to handle. Once the lobsters are removed from the kettle and the mushrooms are cooked, strain the mushroom juices into the lobster-cooking liquid. Simmer down quickly, reducing to just over 2 cups. Strain the combined lobster and mushroom cooking juices into a smaller pan.
Set the strained mushrooms aside in a bowl.
In a separate, small saucepan, start the cream sauce by cooking the butter and flour without browning.
Add the reduced lobster-cooking liquid with the pan off of the heat. Return to the heat and boil for a minute.
Turn the heat off once again, add a tablespoon of cream to the top of the sauce. Let sit while preparing the lobsters for the stuffing.
Back to the lobsters, remove the claws carefully. Crack open and remove the claw meat and place in a bowl. Set aside.
Split the lobsters in half lengthwise, keeping the shell intact. Do this very carefully. Remove the tail meat and add to the claw meat. Then remove the insides, creating a clean cavity for stuffing.
Chop the tail meat and claw meat into bite size pieces.
Add the chopped lobster meat to a skillet with butter that has foamed and then subsided.
It’s starting to come together now
Add the cognac to the buttered lobster. Let the cognac simmer until it is reduced by about half.
Add the mushrooms to the lobster mixture, stirring to incorporate.
Take about 2/3 of the sauce and incorporate it into the lobster and mushroom mixture. This is the beauty of this dish, almost ready to stuff back into the lobsters.
Time to stuff the lobsters!
Carefully add the lobster mixture to the shells. This is all about presentation now, as the hard work of cooking is pretty much done.
Top with cheese. We chose a mixture of good Swiss cheese and fresh parmesan cheese. Dot the top with butter.
Full disclosure: we only cooked 2 lobsters. The recipe calls for 3. It worked just fine, leaving a nice amount of sauce. We had a bit of lobster mixture left over that we placed in a ceramic bowl and placed in the refrigerator. The next night we heated in the oven, enjoying a bit of leftover lobster thermidor.
Additionally, we did not cook all 4 halves of the lobsters. We took the 4th half and placed it in a food saver bag. We then used our sous vide to warm it a couple of nights later. We finished it in a 425 degree oven with cheese on top. It was still great!
On this night we had with a simple salad and sauce on the side. We did not have a French wine, so we enjoyed with a fabulous Pinot Noir from Domaine Carneros. So rich but so delicious!
Lobster Thermidor
Ingredients
- 6 live lobsters (about 2 lbs each)
- 2 cups white wine
- 1 cup dry vermouth
- 2 cups water
- 1 large onion, thinly sliced
- 1 carrot, thinly sliced
- 1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
- 6 sprigs parsley
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 sprig thyme
- 1 sprig tarragon
- 6 peppercorns
- 1/2 lb sliced fresh mushrooms (we used cremini & oyster)
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 9 tablespoons (divided) + 2 more tablespoons (for topping) butter
- 6 tablespoons flour
- 1/2 cup + 5-6 more tablespoons whipping cream
- 1 tablespoon dry mustard
- 2 egg yolks
- Pinch of cayenne pepper
- 1/3 cup cognac
- 1/2 cup Parmesan and/or Swiss cheese, finely grated
Instructions
- In large kettle (pot) add the wine, vermouth, vegetables, herbs and the 6 peppercorns. Bring to a simmer for 15 minutes. Next, bring to a full rolling boil. Add the live lobsters. Cover and boil for about 20 minutes. Keep the lid on tight. The lobsters are done when they are a bright red color and the long head-feelers can be pull off easily.
- When the lobsters are done remove them from the kettle. Set the lobsters aside until cool enough to handle.
- Strain the lobsters juices into a smaller saucepan. Set aside.
- Returning to the lobsters, start by carefully removing the claws from the body, keeping the rest intact. Crack open the claws and remove the meat, placing the meat into a bowl.
- Split the lobsters in half lengthwise, keeping the shell halves intact. Carefully remove the tail meat, add to the bowl with the claw meat. Discard all the remaining insides, making a clean cavity for the stuffing. Place the cleaned lobsters on a baking sheet and set aside until ready to stuff.
- While the lobsters are cooking start the stuffing. First stew the mushrooms slowly in a covered saucepan with 2 tablespoons butter, lemon juice and salt for 10 minutes. Set aside.
- After removing the lobsters from the kettle, strain the stewed mushroom juice into the lobster steaming juices. Boil down rapidly until the liquid has reduced to about 2 1/2 cups. Set the cooked mushrooms aside.
- In a separate, small saucepan start the sauce. Cook the 5 Tbsp of butter and the flour slowly together for 2 minutes without browning. Remove from the heat and whip in the simmering lobster-cooking liquid. Boil, stirring for 1 minute. Turn the heat off and top with 1 Tablespoon of cream. Let sit.
- In 3 qt mixing bowl whisk the 2 egg yolks, dry mustard, 1/2 cup whipping cream and pinch of cayenne pepper. Once fully mixed, drizzle into the sauce on sit aside on the stove, whisking to incorporate. Turn the heat on to medium and bring to a boil, whisking constantly. Thin out with 4-6 more tablespoons of cream as needed. Taste and correct with seasoning. Set aside.
- Returning to the lobsters, start by removing the meat from the tails and claws. Cut into very small cubes.
- In a 12-inch skillet add the 4 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. When the butter foam begins to subside, stir in the cut up lobster meal and sauté, stirring slowly, for about 5 minutes, until the meat has turned a rosy color. Pour in the cognac and cook for a minute or two until the liquid has reduced by half.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Fold the cooked mushrooms and two thirds of the sauce into the skillet with the lobster meat.
- Arrange the split lobster shells in a roasting pan. Heap the lobster mixture evenly into the shells; cover with the remaining sauce. Sprinkle with cheese and dot with the final 2 tablespoons of butter. (This may be prepared ahead and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature before place in the preheated oven)
- Place the roasting plan into the upper third of the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes, until the lobster is bubbling and the top of the sauce is nicely browned.
- Serve immediately on a platter or serving plates. Enjoy!
