Schraffts Lobster Thermidor Recipes

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 THERMIDOR

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients. Preheat the oven to 400 F.
• With a sharp chef's knife, split each live lobster in half lengthwise, starting with the head and working the knife back toward the tail. When you begin at the head end, the process kills the lobster instantly .
• Brush the lobster with the olive oil and bake for 15 minutes.
• Remove the lobster from the oven and let it cool.
• Gather the ingredients.
• In a small skillet or saucepan, make a roux by melting the butter over medium heat and adding the flour, 1 spoonful at a time, mixing vigorously.
• Continue cooking and whisking until the roux is blonde or caramel in color, about 3 to 4 minutes.
• Add the stock and whisk well to combine.
• Let the mixture come to a simmer, about 2 minutes, then slowly add the milk, whisking continuously.
• After the mixture has simmered again-about 2 more minutes-add some salt and pepper to taste and then the nutmeg. Be mindful of not letting the béchamel boil. Remove from the heat and set aside.
• Gather the ingredients.
• With the help of a fork, remove the meat from all parts of the cooled lobster. Reserve the empty lobster shells (just the main body) for the dish.
• Chop the lobster meat coarsely.
• In a small frying pan over medium-high heat, add the wine, sherry, lobster stock, shallot, and tarragon. Boil it down until it is thick in consistency, almost like a glaze-about 10 minutes.
• Add the béchamel sauce to the glaze, and stir well to combine.
• In a separate bowl, mix the heavy cream with the egg yolk.
• Slowly add about 1/2 cup of the béchamel-glaze mixture into the egg yolk and cream, stirring constantly. (By tempering the cream-egg mixture, you won't get scrambled eggs in your sauce.)
• Pour the egg mixture into the pan with the rest of the béchamel-glaze.
• Bring the sauce to a simmer over medium heat, but don't let boil. Add the dry mustard and some salt to taste.
• Cook until the sauce is thickened-about 3 minutes- then remove from the heat.
• Preheat the oven to 375 F. Add the lobster meat to the sauce and mix well.
• Fill the empty lobster shells with the lobster Thermidor mixture, then place on a baking sheet (lined with parchment paper if you like) and bake for 5 to 8 minutes.
• Sprinkle the top with a little paprika as a garnish. Serve and enjoy.

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

Steps:

• For the pickled mustard seeds: In a small pot over high heat, bring the white vinegar to a boil. Add the mustard seeds, then immediately remove from the heat and let rest for about 30 minutes. Strain seeds, reserving vinegar for another use. Set aside.
• For the lobster: Bring a very large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Place the lobsters head first into the water and cook at a rapid boil until bright red, 5 to 6 minutes. Remove the lobsters from the water and set them aside to cool.
• For the leek stuffing: Slice the leeks into 1-inch pieces and place in a large mixing bowl. Fill the bowl with cold water and, with your hands, agitate the water to dislodge any dirt and grit from the leeks. Let the grit settle to the bottom of the bowl, then use a spider or slotted spoon to gently lift the leeks out of the water and place in a colander set in the sink to drain.
• Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the butter, leeks, a pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper. Cook, stirring often, until the leeks are tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in the mustard and red wine vinegar. Remove from the heat and set aside.
• For the assembly: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Once the lobsters have cooled, cut them in half and take the tail and claw meat out. Cut the meat into bite-size pieces. Set aside.
• Clean out the entire inside of the lobster shells, discarding the innards and the claw shells. Divide the leeks among the empty lobster shells, then top with the lobster meat. Brush the lobster with the melted butter and finish with some pickled mustard seeds. Bake until heated through, approximately 10 minutes.

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.

SEAFOOD THERMIDOR

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, saute onion in 1 tablespoon butter until tender. Combine soup mix and flour; stir into onion until blended. Gradually whisk in milk. Stir in wine or broth and lemon juice. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened. , Add cod; cook for 1-1/2 minutes. Stir in shrimp; cook 1 minute longer or until fish flakes easily with a fork and shrimp turn pink. Remove from the heat; stir in mozzarella cheese and parsley until cheese is melted. , Transfer to a 3-cup baking dish coated with cooking spray. Melt remaining butter; toss with bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle over seafood mixture. Broil 4-6 in. from the heat for 3 minutes or until topping is golden.

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:

• Heat oven to 450 degrees.
• Saute onion and mushrooms in butter.
• Blend in flour and seasonings.
• Cook over low heat until bubbly.
• Remove from heat and stir in cream, chicken broth and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to boil, stirring constantly.
• Boil 1 minute. Add egg yolk, flavoring and lobster.
• Place mixture in shell of lobster or individual baking dishes and sprinkle with 3 tablespoons fine buttered cracker or dry bread crumbs.
• Bake 5 minutes.

LOBSTER SPRING ONION THERMIDOR

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425°F If you have whole claws, remove the meat whole and reserve for garnishing. Cut the lobster meat into 1/2 inch dice and set aside.
• In a saucepan over medium heat, melt 4 tablespoons of butter. Add the green onions and sauté until the white part is translucent, about 3 minutes. Stir in the diced lobster and sauté until heated through, about 3 minutes. Add the brandy, bring to a simmer, and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the thyme and salt and pepper to taste. Remove from the heat and set aside.
• In a frying pan over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter. Add the mushrooms and sauté until golden, about 5 minutes. Stir in 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice. Remove from heat and set aside.
• In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter. Stir in the flour to make a roux and cook, stirring constantly, for 2-3 minutes; do not let the mixture color. Gradually whisk in the stock. Cook, stirring frequently, until thickened, about 10 minutes. Stir in the half-and-half and cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes longer. Stir in the paprika, salt to taste, Tabasco sauce to taste, and the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of lemon juice, or more to taste. Taste and adjust seasoning.
• Stir the lobster mixture and mushrooms into the white sauce. Spoon the lobster mixture into 4 individual gratin dishes. Sprinkle each with one-fourth of the Parmesan. Place the dishes on a baking sheet and bake until bubbling and lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Serve at once, garnished with the claw meat, if available.