A Traditional Christmas Eve Baked Stuffed Lobster Tail Recipe Sure to Please

Posted on December 15, 2023

Christmas Eve Baked Stuffed Lobster Tail Recipe

For families all across the country, the traditional Christmas Eve dinner is celebrated with lobster as either the main course or a first course. This year, for many chefs, baked stuffed lobster tails will take center stage.

Here is a traditional Christmas Eve baked stuffed lobster tail recipe, courtesy of Chef Christopher Russel of Boothbay Harbor, Maine. Russell is a former Maine Lobster Council Chef of the Year.

One Maine Lobster Per Person

Plan on one 1-1/2 pound-lobster per person, or if convenience dictates, fresh or frozen lobster tails may be purchased instead of whole live lobster.

INGREDIENTS:

(4 servings, cook time 20 minutes, preparation 25 minutes, total meal in 45 minutes)

4 live Maine lobsters, each 1-1/2 pounds *
8 Tablespoons butter
2 Cups finely chopped onions (about 2 medium)
4 Tablespoons fresh parsley finely chopped
2 Teaspoons Old Bay seafood seasoning
4 Tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
4 Cups Ritz crackers crumbled (6 ounces)

DIRECTIONS:

Boil salted water in a large kettle or pot. Cook the whole lobsters for 5 minutes. Remove lobsters and place in an ice water tub to cool. Crack and pick the meat from the claws, knuckles and body. Chop lobster meat into bite-sized pieces. Set aside. Split the tails lengthwise down the center with a sharp knife, being sure to keep the shell-side of the lobsters facing up. Make sure to keep the shells intact. Remove the tail meat from the shell and remove the intestinal track from the meat. Then carefully insert the whole tail meat back into the shell.

For the stuffing, melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped onion. Sauté until soft. Stir in the parsley, Old Bay seasoning and lemon juice. Remove the skillet from heat and let cool. Stir in the chopped lobster claw and knuckle meat. Gently add in the cracker crumbs and stir. Using a spoon, add the the stuffing into the lobster tails. Refrigerate the lobster tails until ready to bake. When ready, preheat the oven to 425-degrees . Bake the tails until the stuffing is golden and crisp, about 15 – 20 minutes. Serve immediately with wedges of lemon and let the dinner party begin!

NUTRITIONAL:

Per serving:

658 calories

46 grams protein

37 grams carbohydrates

36 grams fat

1196 mg. sodium

2 grams fiber

* Instead of whole lobster, the dish may also be prepared with frozen Maine lobster tails. Boil water and just blanch the tails and carefully remove the meat, leaving the shell intact. Substitute 16 ounces of raw Maine crab meat or shrimp instead of the lobster knuckle and claw meat. Sauté the crab meat or shrimp with the onion and finish preparing the stuffing and the lobster tails as directed.5

© Wayne Howe 2018

Cooking lobster and recipes

Maine Lobster Picnic Made Easy with Portable Propane Steamer

Posted on June 21, 2023

Planning a big outdoor, family picnic with lots of Maine lobster? Make outdoor preparation easy and fast with a portable, propane lobster cooker. Working just like a gas grill, the big lobster pot sits outside on a portable burner with stand. The cooker keeps the heat, water and mess outside and away from the kitchen. And most important, it keeps the lobster close to the picnic tables and guests.

A portable cooker easily allows the chef to deftly pop the lobsters in an out and keep them coming for all the hungry guests. Ranging in size from 30 to 50 gallons, the bigger pots can cook up to ten or more medium sized Maine lobsters at a time.

Two Pound Steamed Maine Lobsters

There are many brands to choose from, but the quality lobster-pot set ups come with a stand, propane burner, aluminum pot with ridges and an internal steamer basket. This gives the cook the option of steaming the lobsters or boiling them. The internal basket is a must if you want to prepare hefty amounts of steamer clams, mussels, crabs or crawfish. The cook can also use the basket to make a clambake by adding, lobster, shellfish, potatoes, onions, corn and more.

Cooking Maine Lobster with Portable Gas Burner

A good quality unit with plenty of BTUs will get the water boiling fast and keep it boiling (Don’t skimp on the BTUs unless you have a lot of patience). Here are a few helpful hints:

Set the unit up away from foot traffic to avoid accidents but close to a water source so you can easily add water as needed.
Make sure to buy fresh Maine lobster and keep them cool right up until you are ready to cook them. A cooler holding just the lobster with plenty of frozen gel packs and wet newspaper is the best solution. Do not use ice or put them in fresh water. The lobsters will perish immediately in fresh water.
Fill the pot about 2/3 of the way and add two tablespoons of sea salt per gallon.
Lobster pot with steamer basket and portable gas burner makes outdoor cooking easy.
Set the burner to high and bring the water to a roiling boil. Place the live lobster head first into the pot one at a time. You may leave the bands on the claws.
Leave enough room in the pot so you can stir the lobsters from top to bottom so they cook evenly.
After the lobster are in the pot, allow the water to return to a roiling boil, cover the pot and start timing. A 1-½ pound lobster will be done in 14 minutes. Do not overcook. When done the lobster will be bright red and will usually float to the top of the pot.
To steam the lobster instead of boiling, add enough water to cover the bottom of the basket. Add salt. Bring water to a boil, add the lobster headfirst and cover. Stir the lobster a couple of times so they cook evenly. A 1-½ pound lobster will steam in 14 minutes.
As the lobster are cooked and removed you can add more to the pot to make it easy to keep them coming. Add water as needed.
Allow the lobsters to drain a minute before serving.

A word of caution, these portable units are built to hold the weight of all that hot water and the lobsters. Don’t go off and try to put a lobster pot on one of those small portable propane burners or stoves you might use to make an omelet on. The water weight alone will crush it.

Lobster Maine Steamed Lobster

Traditional Steamed Maine Lobster Recipe

Posted on June 19, 2023

STEAMED MAINE LOBSTER RECIPE

Outdoor cooking season leaves lobster chefs with the decision of either steaming or boiling lobster. The easiest way to cook, serve, and pick clean Maine Lobster is by boiling it. When it comes to steaming, this often gives the best results for eating. With a more gentle process of cooking lobster meat, steaming preserves its flavor and tenderness. This cooking technique makes it difficult to overcook the meat and can be forgiving with timing. Don’t wait to try this traditional steamed Maine lobster recipe.

How Long to Steam Maine Lobster Recipe?

Traditional Lobster Kettle

The first step is to obtain some freshly caught old shell Maine lobster that is available up to 2.5 pounds. Older shell lobsters are usually stronger and healthier with more meat than new shell lobster. When you choose the lobster that’s right for your meal use a big four to five-gallon kettle or pot with a tight lid and a bottom steaming rack. This size pot should be able to easily handle up to eight pounds of lobster. When placing the lobsters in the pot make sure to not crowd to avoid uneven results.

Begin cooking by adding two to three inches of sea water to cover the bottom of the pot. If you don’t have access to the Atlantic Ocean you can use filtered fresh water and add lots of sea salt; one to two tablespoons per quart.

Place the steaming rack inside the pot and use high heat to bring the water to a roiling boil. If you wish, you may remove the rubber lobster claw bands. One at a time, place the live lobster head first into the pot and cover. Start timing the lobster and do not overcook.

Lobster Steaming Times (Old Shell Weight)

1 pound, 8-10 minutes
1 ¼ pounds, 10-12 minutes
1 ½ pounds, 12-14 minutes
1 ¾ pounds, 15-17 minutes
2 pounds, 16-18 minutes
2 ½ pounds, 18-20 minutes
3 pounds, 20-30 minutes
5 pounds, 35-45 (or more) minutes

*If you’re using new shell lobster reduce time by 3 minutes.

Halfway through the allotted cook time, open the lid and move the lobster around in the pot. Shifting is important for an even cook. You may add a little more water if necessary. To determine when the lobsters are fully cooked the lobster shell will be bright red and the meat white.

What’s the best way to tell when the lobsters are done?

Large lobsters’ shell can be red but may not be fully cooked and lobsters on top of the pot may not have cooked as quickly as the ones on the bottom. A great way to see if your lobster is done is to give one of the lobster antennae a pull while in the steamer pot. If the antenna pops off it’s a good indicator of being fully cooked. You can also use tongs to remove one lobster and cut a small slice at the bottom of the tail to see if the meat is fully white.

Allow steamed lobster to drain for a minute since it will continue to cook for a minute even after it’s taken out of the pot. When setting a time keep this in mind to avoid overcooking. You may pierce the body and tail with a knife to help drain the water. Then serve right away with a side of melted butter and a slice of lemon.

Older Posts

Newer Posts