Baked Stuffed Lobster New England Style

1Steve's Note:

Seafood stuffed lobster in the New England tradition. Recipe courtesy Jasper White

• Total Time: 45 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 25 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 2

• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons butter , melted (for brushing)
• 1 medium onion , finely diced
• 2 sprigs tarragon , leaves picked and coarsely chopped
• 2 sprigs Italian parsley , leaves picked and coarsely chopped
• 4 ounces peeled raw maine shrimp or 4 ounces raw scallops or 4 ounces cookedcrabmeat or 4 ounces lobster meat , cut into 1/2-inch dice
• kosher salt or sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 2 hard shell select lobsters (1 1/2 to 2 1/2 pounds each)
• 3 ounces commoncrackers or 3 ounces oyster crackers or 3 ounces dried cornbread , crumbled

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Melt 8 tablespoons butter in a 9-inch skillet over medium heat.
3. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes until soft but not browned.
4. Stir in the tarragon and parsley.
5. If using raw shrimp or scallops, add them with the herbs and cook for 1 minute.
6. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.
7. If using cooked lobster or crabmeat, remove the pan from the heat as soon as you stir in the herbs, let cool, and then add the lobster or crabmeat.
8. Season with salt and pepper.
9. With a cleaver of chef’s knife, split the lobsters in half lengthwise.
10. Remove and discard the head sac and intestine.
11. Remove the tomalley and the roe if present and place in a small bowl.
12. Break into small pieces using a fork.
13. With the back side of a knife, crack the center of each claw on 1 side only.
14. Season the lobsters lightly with salt and pepper.
15. On a large roasting pan or baking sheet, place the halves together to resemble a butterfly.
16. The tomalley and roe are optional for the stuffing.
17. If you want to include them, mix them into the seafood mixture.
18. Gently fold the crumbled crackers into the mixture.
19. Divide the mixture evenly between 2 lobsters.
20. If you are serving 1 lobster per person, spread the stuffing over the center so that the lobsters look whole again.
21. Do not pack the stuffing tightly, or it will affect the even baking of the lobster.
22. Brush the 3 tablespoons melted butter over the exposed meat tail, stuffing and claws.
23. Bake until the lobster is cooked through and the stuffing is crisp and golden.
24. Bake 17 minutes for a 1 1/2 pound lobster and 24 minutes for a 2-pound lobster.

Reviews

[laine hendrickson]

Excellent! I made this for my husband for our anniversary.

[Seniah]

Perfect preparation method...made this for my husband's birthday dinner. I'd bought a huge shallot at the farmer's market so used that for the onion and used garlic instead of tarragon. This would be tough to do with a crowd, but for two-four people, it's the best way to prepare a lobster dinner.

[- Carla -]

Lovely Baked Stuffed Lobster Recipe! As mentioned by a previous reviewer the Tarragon infused stuffing is just delightful. For the stuffing I used 6 large raw scallops, 1 can of Crab meat & 400 grams of raw Hollandse Ganarlen (Flavorful Mini-Shimp, a speciality here in the Netherlands). The lobsters I used were about 2 pounds each. I'm a New Englander and this is pretty much how my mother used to make her Baked Stuffed Lobsters, the only diffrence is that she used to get them right off the boat from "Joe" the local fisherman... and I have to purchased them in the store...