Photo: Ensenada Lobster Thermidor Recipe
Ingredients
Lobster Meat:
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 1 onion, peeled and quartered
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
- 1 lemon, quartered lengthwise
- 1/4 cup peeled garlic cloves
- 2 (1 to 1 1/2-pound) fresh whole lobsters
- Bowl with ice and cold water, big enough to fit lobsters
Thermidor Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1/4 cup Mexican chorizo
- 2 tablespoons diced red bell pepper, 1/4-inch diced
- 2 tablespoons roughly chopped garlic
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 2 teaspoons roughly chopped fresh tarragon
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
- 2 tablespoons panko bread crumbs
Directions
Bring a large stock pot of water to a boil. Add the salt, onion, bay leaf, peppercorns, lemon, and garlic. Let simmer to infuse the water, about 5 minutes, and then add the lobster and cook for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the lobster from the water and place in a bowl of ice water. When cool, remove the legs and set aside. Starting at the center of each lobster, cut in half lengthwise along the back, and clean out the tomalley, adding to the bowl with the legs. Remove the tail and claw meat and roughly chop. Save the legs, claw shells, and tomalley for another purpose, such as stock. Rinse the shells for serving.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
In a medium saute pan, add the butter, oil and chorizo and cook for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the red bell pepper and garlic and saute until the garlic is cooked, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the flour and cook until roux is blonde in color, 3 to 4 minutes more. Slowly stir in the milk and cook until thickened. Add the white wine, tarragon, Dijon, pepper, lemon juice and 1/4 cup Parmesan. Remove from the heat.
Combine the lobster meat and sauce and fill the cleaned lobster shells with the mixture. Top with the panko and remaining Parmesan.
Place on a baking sheet and cook until the top browns, 8 to 12 minutes.
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By gorhicrocker
on July 25, 2012
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Very very delicious. Needed more lemon juice to cut the richness and add some acidity. We used two pound lobsters and added a little more of everything and it was so delicious. We also had a ton of filling left over so we put it in a dish and baked it with panko crumb toppings along with the lobster shells and used it has a dip for some grilled garlic and herb bread. I got to say, I hate lobster (I only made it because it's my boyfriends favorite but this recipe has got me eating and loving it. Will definitely make again!
By keninbos
Boston, MA
on December 27, 2011
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I made this for a fancy Christmas eve dinner for 4 and guests raved. Not a complicated recipe but does take a significant amount of time since you have to get all the lobster meat out of the shells. Also not for the faint of heart since you have hack the lobsters in half and clean them out. I subbed Linquica for the Chorizo but next time will go for the spice of Chorizo. I ended up using more lemon juice and tarragon, and added some white wine vinegar as I thought the sauce was a bit on the rich and thick side and the acid helped cut it a bit (might want to use Pernod if you have it for more traditional French flavor. I also added some cajun seasoning to the Panko. Like the other reviewer, I had quite a bit of filling left over - threw it in a casserole dish, topped with Panko, and cooked - made a great dip with crackers.
By tableforthree77
on December 27, 2010
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I made this Christmas night as a late snack after all of the parties were over. Had to use dried tarragon instead of fresh, a huge snow storm had hit my town that night and multiple grocery stores was out of the question. Everyone loved it... I thought it was a bit spicy but I did have to use a pretty spicy chorizo. Lobster meat is my favorite food period. I should have known better than to boil it with the ingredients called for. Tested the claw and tail meat before tossing it into the sauce and I was not blown away from the flavor. Panko bread crumbs can overpower easily so watch that too. In my opinion the sauce is delicious and is very versatile. I would add a good Monterrey jack cheese and twice the amount, and this is a great dip. The shells were small (I live in Illinois and we have to use what is available and there was quite a bit of the sauce so I served seconds in small dishes instead of the shells. Overall this was a good dish and received great praise. Tasty!
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