Best 8 Lobster Tails Thermidor Recipes

CHEF JOHN'S LOBSTER THERMIDOR

Steps:

• Cut bottom shell of lobster tails using kitchen shears along each side where it meets the top shell; do not remove the shell at this point.
• Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Place lobster tails cut side down in the butter. Cook, covered, about 3 minutes. Turn lobster tails over (they are curved so will lean to 1 side); cover and cook 1 minute. Lean them to the other side; cover and cook 1 minute more.
• Remove from heat. Transfer lobster tails to a bowl. Remove any shell pieces from the skillet.
• Place 1 tablespoon butter in the skillet over medium heat; add shallots and pinch of salt. Cook and stir until pan starts to deglaze and shallots soften, 3 to 4 minutes. Add mushrooms; cook stir until golden brown, 5 to 6 minutes. Add flour; stir until mushrooms are coated and cook for 2 minutes. Pour in cognac; use a kitchen torch to flame cognac to burn off alcohol. This will take just a few seconds. Add milk; cook and stir until pan is completely deglazed and milk begins to thicken and turn bubbly, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in creme fraiche. Let cool.
• Remove lobster meat from the shell, leaving top shell intact. Remove any bits of bottom shell from the meat.
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Line a baking pan with crinkled up foil. Make 4 channel-like indentations in the foil to hold and stabilize the lobster tails as they bake.
• Slice lobster meat down the middle and check for and remove any dark veins. Chop into 1/2-inch pieces. Transfer meat to a mixing bowl. Add cooled sauce, tarragon, pinch of salt, and cayenne pepper. Stir gently until well blended.
• Divide mixture among the lobster tail shells; place in prepared foil-lined pan. Sprinkle each lobster tail with about 1/2 teaspoon bread crumbs and 1/2 teaspoon grated cheese. Drizzle melted butter on the stuffed shells.
• Bake in preheated oven until nicely browned and heated through, about 10 minutes. If you like, you can turn on the broiler and broil 1 minute until tops are golden and crispy.

LOBSTER THERMIDOR

Steps:

• Cut the lobster in half lengthwise, and remove the meat from the claws and tail. Leave to one side. Remove any meat from the head and set aside. Cut the meat up into pieces and place back into the shell.
• Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the shallot; cook and stir until tender. Mix in the fish stock, white wine and double cream. Bring to a boil, and cook until reduced by half. Mix in the mustard, lemon juice, parsley, salt and pepper.
• Preheat your oven's broiler.
• Place the lobster halves on a broiling pan or baking sheet, and spoon the sauce over the lobster meat in the shell. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the top.
• Broil for 3 to 4 minutes, just until golden brown. Serve immediately.

LOBSTER TAILS THERMIDOR

Steps:

• Bring a pot of water to a boil, 3 or 4 inches deep. Add lobster tails to the water and boil 7 to 8 minutes. Drain and shock under cold water to cool. Use kitchen scissors to cut away soft underside of tails. Remove meat and save the shells, arranging them in a shallow casserole dish. Chop the cooked meat on an angle into chunks.
• Preheat your broiler to high.
• Heat a medium skillet and a small saucepot over medium heat. To the small saucepot, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Add finely chopped onion and cook 3 to 5 minutes until very soft. To the skillet, add remaining 2 tablespoons butter. When the butter melts, add chopped lobster meat and saute.
• Add flour to sauce pot with onions and cook together another 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in wine or sherry, then milk. Remove sauce from heat and stir in cheddar cheese and paprika or crab boil. Season sauce with salt and pepper. Pour sauce over lobster meat and stir to combine. Pour lobster into and over the shells in a casserole dish and top with Parmesan and bread crumbs. Broil on high until golden, 2 or 3 minutes. Serve each tail, spilling over with lobster bits in sauce, on a bed of mixed baby greens and parsley with wedges of lemon along side.
• To make this dish with jumbo shrimp, cut up peeled, deveined raw shrimp. Saute the shrimp in butter, as with cooked lobster. Cook until pink and firm and proceed with method. Place the shrimp and sauce into a small casserole, then spoon completed shrimp Thermidor over bed of greens and parsley leaves.

LOBSTER THERMIDOR

Steps:

• To cook lobsters.
• Fill a pot with water. Make sure there is enough water to cover the tails or whole lobsters. Add lemon, white wine, bay leaves and thyme. Bring water to boil then add lobster cook for 8-12mins depending on size. Strain and place lobsters in cold iced water to stop cooking. When you cut shell you will find the meat is not cooked all the way through this is fine as it cooks off in the oven, this way the meat does not over cook and go rubbery.
• When tails are cold, cut out the under shell and reserve main shell to fill with lobster meat.
• If using whole lobster remove claws from lobster and cut the lobster in half lengthwise. Then remove tail meat and meat from claws, again save body shell for filling later.
• To make sauce.
• Melt butter in a pan and saute shallots and garlic until soft, add sherry cook for a couple of minutes. Meanwhile combine a small amount of water with cornflour to form a paste add and stir until sauce thickens slightly.
• Add both chicken and fish stock, then slowly whisk in milk and both creams turn up the heat slightly so the mixture will come to a boil. Then you will want to turn it down to medium.
• Add Dijon mustard, cayenne and cheeses reserving enough cheese to cover lobster when you put it back in the shell. Stir until all the cheese has melted then add the Parsley stir to combine and finally add the Tarragon again stir to combine.
• Mix lobster meat with sauce, then return meat to shells making sure you stuff them full of meat pour a little sauce over top to cover then top with remaining cheese and sprinkle breadcrumbs over top.
• Place in a pre-heated oven 180c and bake until cheese has melted and top has gone golden brown.
• For a photo visit http://the-best-recipes.blogspot.com/.

NEXT LEVEL LOBSTER THERMIDOR

Steps:

• Snap the claws and smaller legs away from each lobster. Cut the main section in half lengthways using a large chef's knife, and scoop the contents of the head cavities into a bowl, then remove the dark vein from the tail meat and discard. Remove the tail meat, chop into large chunks and put in another bowl. Lay the empty shells cut-side up on a baking tray and set aside.
• Crack the claws and knuckles, then pick out all the meat using a skewer or lobster pick. Roughly chop and add to the bowl with the tail meat. Put any shards of shell into the bowl with the head meat. Use a rolling pin to roll along the length of the small, spindly legs and push out the meat, then tip into the bowl with the claw and tail meat. Again, put any broken shells into the bowl with the head meat. The lobster can an be prepped up to a day before. Cover and chill the meat and broken shells until needed.
• To make the sauce, heat the butter in a large saucepan over a medium heat and cook the shallots for 5-6 mins until soft and golden. Add the broken shells and head meat, then turn up the heat and cook for 2 mins more. Splash in the wine or vermouth and bubble for 2 mins to reduce. Pour over the stock and cream, bring to the boil, then continue to cook for 10-12 mins until the mixture has reduced and thickened. Turn the heat off and leave to cool slightly, then pour into another saucepan through a fine mesh sieve, pressing the shells and meat against the mesh with the back of a spoon to extract all the sauce. Stir in the mustard and lemon juice, then taste for seasoning. The sauce can be made the day before, covered and kept chilled.
• Heat the grill to high. Spoon the claw and tail meat into the empty reserved shells. Reheat the sauce over a low heat until warmed through, if needed, then stir through the herbs. Spoon the sauce over the lobster meat in the shells, then sprinkle with the parmesan and put under the grill for 4-5 mins until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese lightly golden. Serve with chips or boiled small potatoes and a green salad.

LOBSTER THERMIDOR

Steps:

• Plunge lobsters headfirst into an 8-quart pot of boiling salted water*. Loosely cover pot and cook lobsters over moderately high heat 9 minutes from time they enter water, then transfer with tongs to sink to cool.
• When lobsters are cool enough to handle, twist off claws and crack them, then remove meat. Halve lobsters lengthwise with kitchen shears, beginning from tail end, then remove tail meat, reserving shells. Cut all lobster meat into 1/4-inch pieces. Discard any remaining lobster innards, then rinse and dry shells.
• Heat butter in a 2-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat until foam subsides, then cook mushrooms, stirring, until liquid that mushrooms give off is evaporated and they begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Add lobster meat, paprika, salt, and pepper and reduce heat to low. Cook, shaking pan gently, 1 minute. Add 1 tablespoon Sherry and 1/2 cup hot cream and simmer 5 minutes.
• Whisk together yolks and remaining tablespoon Sherry in a small bowl. Slowly pour remaining 1/2 cup hot cream into yolks, whisking constantly, and transfer to a small heavy saucepan. Cook custard over very low heat, whisking constantly, until it is slightly thickened and registers 160°F on an instant-read thermometer. Add custard to lobster mixture, stirring gently.
• Preheat broiler.
• Arrange lobster shells, cut sides up, in a shallow baking pan and spoon lobster with some of sauce into shells. Broil lobsters 6 inches from heat until golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Serve remaining sauce on the side.
• When salting water for cooking, use 1 tablespoon salt for every 4 quarts water.

SCHRAFFT'S LOBSTER THERMIDOR

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Split lobsters down the middle and remove and reserve meat from tail and claws. Discard everything from the head and remove the front legs, without detaching the cartilage that holds the head and tail together. Rinse and dry shells and set aside.
• Cut reserved meat into 1/2-inch dice. Sauté in 2 tablespoons butter, add shallot, lemon juice, paprika and cayenne until warmed through. Season with salt and pepper. In another pan, sauté mushrooms in 2 tablespoons butter until tender.
• Set aside mushrooms and lobster meat. Melt the remaining butter in the pan the lobster was cooked in. Stir in the flour and mustard and cook for 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in the stock, then the cream, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Add the lobster and mushrooms and cook 2 more minutes. Season with salt, pepper and lemon.
• Spoon mixture into the shells, sprinkle with cheese and bake until the cheese is lightly browned, 10 to 12 minutes. Serve immediately.

LOBSTER THERMIDOR A LA JULIA CHILD

Steps:

• Simmer all of the ingredients under Step 1 (except the lobsters!) in a large enameled or stainless steel pot for 15 minutes.
• Bring to a rolling boil and then add the live lobsters.
• You can tell when they are done because they are bright red and the long head-feelers can be pulled out pretty easily.
• While the lobsters are steaming, stew the mushrooms over low to medium low heat in a covered saucepan with all of the other ingredients from Step 2 for 10 minutes.
• When the lobsters are cooked, remove them from the kettle.
• Pour the mushroom juices in the kettle (not the mushrooms!) lobster-juices pot and boil down rapidly until it is reduced to about 2 1/4 cups liquid.
• Strain the liquid into a large saucepan and bring to a simmer.
• Cook the first 2 ingredients from Step 3 slowly together in another saucepan.
• Be sure not to brown it!
• Remove from heat, and beat in the lobster-mushroom liquid.
• Boil, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.
• Drizzle the cream from step 3 on top of the sauce.
• Split the lobsters in half, lengthwise, making sure to keep the shell halves intact.
• Discard 'sand sacks' in the heads and intestines.
• Rub 'lobster coral' and 'green matter' through a fine sieve into a 3 quart mixing bowl, and blend it into the ingredients from step 4.
• Beat the lobster-mushroom sauce into this mixture in small spats.
• Return the sauce to the pan, and, stirring with a wooden spoon, bring it to a boil.
• Boil slowly for 2 minutes.
• Thin out with step 5.
• By now the sauce should be thick enough to coat a spoon pretty heavily.
• Set aside, top filmed with a spoonful of cream.
• Remove the meat from the lobster tails and claws, cut into 3/8 inch cubes.
• Set the skillet with the butter from step 6 over medium heat.
• When butter foam begins to dissipate, stir in the lobster meat and saute, stirring slowly, for 5 minutes, until the meat has turned a rosy color.
• Pour the cognac in and boil for a minute or two, shaking the skillet, until the liquid has been reduced by half.
• Preheat oven to 425°F.
• Fold cooked mushrooms and 2/3 of the sauce into the skillet with the lobster meat.
• Arrange the split lobster shells on a shallow roasting pan or fireproof serving platter.
• Heap the lobster mixture into the shells, and cover with the remaining sauce.
• Sprinkle with cheese and dot with butter (you can refrigerate it at this point to finish up later on).
• Place in upper 1/3 of the oven for 10-15 minutes, until lobster is bubbling and sauce is a nice brown.
• Serve immediately!