Thanksgiving Lobster Recipe with Seasonal Nutmeg and Chestnut Flavorings

Posted on November 9, 2021

No holiday is more New England than Thanksgiving. The holiday dinner is based on Pilgrim lore. So adding a first course of steamed Maine lobster served in the shell with nutmeg vinaigrette and chestnut puree would add a wonderful dimension to the Thanksgiving tradition. Not to mention being a big hit for guests and family.

Celebrity Chef Thanksgiving Lobster Recipe

The lobster recipe is from Boston celebrity Chef Todd English who is on the record for being a big fan of Thanksgiving day lobster. The recipe first appeared in Food and Wine Magazine. It is recommended that the nutmeg vinaigrette and chestnut puree be prepared the day before. The lobster recipe calls for 10 1-1/4 pound live lobsters steamed, and then halved with the lobster meat served in the shell.

Steamed Lobster

The recipe will serve 20 people.

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MAKE-AHEAD
2 cups chicken stock or canned low-sodium broth
2 cups apple cider
shallots, minced
3 bay leaves
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly grated nutmeg
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
Two 15-ounce cans whole chestnuts packed in water, drained
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup crème fraîche or sour cream
Salt and freshly ground pepper
4 large scallions, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Ten 1 1/4-pound steamed lobsters, halved
1/4 pound mixed young salad greens

In a large saucepan, combine 1 cup of the stock with the cider, shallots, bay leaves and sherry vinegar. Boil over high heat until reduced by half, about 25 minutes. Add the heavy cream and nutmeg and simmer over moderate heat until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.
In a medium saucepan, heat the vegetable oil. Add the onion and cook over moderate heat until softened. Add the remaining 1 cup of stock and the chestnuts and simmer until the liquid reduces by a third, about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the maple syrup and butter. Transfer the contents of the saucepan to a blender and puree until smooth. Blend in the crème fraîche. Transfer the puree to a clean saucepan and season with salt and pepper. Cover and keep warm.
Gently reheat the nutmeg vinaigrette. Add the scallions and parsley and season with salt and pepper.
Cut the lobster tail meat into 1-inch chunks and replace it in the tail sections of the lobsters. Spoon half of the chestnut puree in the center of each of 2 large platters. Arrange the lobster halves around the puree. Spoon the warm nutmeg vinaigrette over the lobsters, garnish the platters with the greens and serve at once.

MAKE AHEAD The lobster recipe can be prepared through Step 2 and refrigerated overnight. Finish the vinaigrette and rewarm the chestnut puree before serving.

SELECTING A WINE The natural saltiness of lobster, as with any seafood, will amplify the flavor of a big fruity Chardonnay. Go with a first course Chardonnay that is gently touched with fruit, and mostly un-oaked.

© Wayne Howe 2021

Cooking lobster and recipes Fishermen

Try this Favorite Maine lobster Steamed-in-Beer Recipe at Next Family Outing

Posted on November 5, 2021

The next time you invite the family over for a lobster outing try this traditional old-time favorite Maine lobster steamed-in-beer recipe. It’s a fun, easy way to prepare lobster and gives the lobster a great, robust down-east flavor.

You will need a pot or steaming kettle large enough to hold six lobsters, some sea salt, beer, fresh whole lemons and butter. That’s it.

Maine Lobster

Ingredients:

Six 1-¼ pound live Maine Lobsters
Two cans of beer (do not use light beer)
2 tablespoons of sea salt
2 sticks of butter and 2 whole lemons

Get Started with Maine Lobster Steamed in Beer Recipe:

Add about an inch of water to the pot. (Some Mainers use only beer)
If you don’t have seawater, add two tablespoons of sea salt. You need to add salt even if you use all beer. Always add salt when cooking live lobster. Traditional kettle for steaming lobster
Add two 12-oz. cans of beer, IPA beer is a good choice. Don’t use light beer.
Bring the water and beer to a roiling boil over high heat.
Remove the rubber bands from the claws and add the lobsters head first. Cover tightly. Wait for the pot to return to boil and start timing.
Steam the lobsters 14 to 15 minutes. About halfway through, stir the lobster at least once to move the bottom lobsters to the top of the pot.
Melt the butter in small pan and slice the lemon into wedges.
When done the lobsters will be a bright red and the tails will be curled under the body of the lobster. Remove the lobsters with tongs and pierce the body with chef’s knife to allow water to drain.
Serve immediately with melted butter poured in ramekins, lemon wedges and cracking utensils.



Cook Any Size Maine Lobster

Note, if you want to cook different size lobsters you can. For each pound, cook the lobster 13 minutes. Then three minutes for each additional pound. While steaming is a flexible way to prepare lobster, be careful not to overcook.

If you want to try this easy to prepare recipe and can’t go to Maine, live Maine lobster is now available for home delivery.

Check out this steamed in beer lobster video from Capt. John of Maine. He takes you from boat to table with his easy to prepare recipe.

Try some other ideas for outdoor entertaining while serving lobster.

© Wayne Howe 2017

Boston and Cape Cod Holidays

Mothers Day Lobster Dinner Tradition Goes the Distance

Posted on April 23, 2021

Every year Henry Johnson would take his mother out for a Mothers Day lobster dinner. But this year, Mom is retired and living 1300 miles away in Naples,Florida. Getting together on Mother’s Day was not going to be possible.

Johnson said he needed a way to keep the Mothers Day lobster-dinner tradition going.

So Johnson went online to see if he could find a seafood restaurant in Naples offering gift certificates. But knowing his mother, Lillian Johnson, was a lobster gourmet, he was not sure he could find a restaurant offering the jumbo lobster his mother preferred.

The web search for a lobster-dinner gift certificate delivered a surprising result, according to Johnson. His Google page yielded a Cape Cod, Massachusetts Lobster delivery service that offered to send fresh, live Maine Lobster overnight to Naples, Florida. And not just any lobster, but jumbo Maine Lobster. The delivery service – Lobsters-Online.Com — also offered freshly harvested steamer clams and oysters.

Johnson said he was “thrilled” with the idea of sending his seafood loving mother a box of live Maine lobster on Mother’s Day.

After a few minutes of shopping the web site, Johnson selected two four-pound lobsters, a bushel of steamers and the Lobster Trap Co. homemade style Lobster Bisque. The Lobsters-Online.Com service offered a satisfaction guarantee, which was important to Johnson.

“What could be a better surprise,” Johnson said. “Mom will be sitting at home, and the door bell will ring, and a box of live lobster will be delivered right to her door.”

Johnson said his mother is one of those Lobster aficionados who grew up in Maine, went to school in Boston and raised a family in Connecticut. His mother’s only complaint about Florida has been that it is difficult to obtain locally fresh New England Lobster and shellfish.

“Mom knows how to cook and eat a lobster like a professional,” Johnson said. “She knows how to make lobster butter with the lobster roe and how to twist the small legs and flippers to get the even the small meat out.”

Sending live lobster on Mother’s Day, Johnson said, will go a long way toward keeping their Mother’s Day lobster dinner tradition going.

LobstersOnline delivery service have been serving up Mother’s Day lobster gift boxes for more than a decade. Every lobster gift box includes only select-grade lobster fresh from the clean, crisp waters of New England. The lobsters are placed in boxes with special individual compartments to protect them in transit. The special box is placed inside a frozen-gel packed cooler and layered with wet seaweed. The package is then shipped FedEx overnight delivery to ensure the lobster arrives fresh, alive and healthy.