Christmas Eve Baked Stuffed Maine Lobster
Looking to wow the family? Try this Christmas Eve baked-stuffed lobster recipe dazzling with pine nuts, dried apricots and rosemary for a fantastic gourmet holiday feast.
Make sure you start with ocean fresh lobster from Maine. Order for home delivery from your favorite online lobster delivery service. Then gather up the following ingredients.
Let’s Get Ready:
- 4 1 ½ lb Live Maine lobsters
- 1 stick butter
- 1/3 cup pine nuts
- 1/3 cup finely diced dried apricots
- 10 oz. brioche, cut into ¾” cubes
- 1 ½ cups diced celery, diced onion, diced fennel
- Dash dried red pepper flakes
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 16 sprigs rosemary
Let’s Start Cooking the Christmas Dinner Lobster:
In a large (16-quart) cook pot, bring 3 cups of water to a roiling boil. Place lobsters one at a time head first into the pot and cover tightly with lid. Cook for seven (7) minutes, making sure to stir the lobster once or twice. Remove the lobsters and set aside and let cool. Save the liquid in the pot. Once cool, use a large chef knife to open the claws and remove the meat. Set meat aside and discard the shells. Twist the body from the tail and slice open the body and remove the insides leaving just the outer shell. Remove the legs from the body shell. Save the shell. Use chef’s scissors to cut the outer edges of the underside of the tail and remove the meat. Discard the cut tail shell piece and save the tail shell. Clean the lobster meat over a bowl to save the juices. Strain 3 cups of the liquid from the pot into the bowl. Dice all the lobster meat except for four of the claws. Leave 4 of the 8 claws whole.
Prepare the stuffing
Bring oven to 350 degrees and toast the brioche until golden brown, about seven to 10 minutes. In a large sauté pan melt the butter over medium heat. Add the pine nuts and apricots and cook, stirring frequently. Cook until apricots have darkened and the pine nuts have toasted to deep brown. Add in the onion, celery and fennel and stir. Cook for three to five minutes until the celery begins to soften. Add the red pepper flake, fresh ground pepper, parsley and a pinch of salt. Add the toasted brioche and toss the mixture. Add three cups of the reserved liquid and combine with mixture. Cook over low heat until the bread has absorbed the liquid, about three to five minutes. Add the diced lobster meat to the mixture and toss to combine. Keep the stuffing warm.
Position the Lobster Shells
Next position the lobster tail shells and body shells on a sheet tray. Fill each shell with a generous portion of the warm stuffing. Place the rosemary aside each shell. Preheat broiler to medium-high and cook for seven to 10 minutes until golden brown. Then add the four claws, one atop each lobster, and cook one more minute. Serve with immediately and enjoy with your favorite wine.
© Wayne Howe 2018
