Homard Bouilli à la Hollandaise

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •12 to 14 quart heavy stockpot with lid
• •4 quart saucepan for the potatoes
• •Small heavy saucepan for the butter
• •Long sturdy tongs
• •Heavy chef's knife and folded kitchen towel
• •Long fish platter, clean linen napkin, sauceboat, and warmed timbale

Instructions

1. 1

   Ready the whole service

   Spread a clean white linen napkin over a long platter and arrange the dry curled-leaf parsley loosely around its edge. Put the butter in a small saucepan, set the sauceboat nearby, and have a heavy knife, tongs, and a folded towel ready. The lobster must travel from pot to platter without a pause, so finish this quiet work first.

   Dry parsley stays crisp and brilliantly green. Wet parsley collapses against the hot shell and leaves water on the napkin.
2. 2

   Start the potatoes

   Put the peeled potatoes in a saucepan, cover them with the cold water, and add the salt. Bring slowly to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer steadily until a knife enters the center with little resistance, about 18 to 22 minutes. Keep them whole and do not let the water thrash them, or their floury edges will break away before the centers are tender.

3. 3

   Boil the lobsters

   While the potatoes cook, bring the prepared Court-bouillon with Vinegar (No. 163) to a full, controlled boil in a stockpot large enough to hold both lobsters without crushing them. Lower the lobsters headfirst into the liquid with long tongs, one immediately after the other. Cover just until the liquid returns to the boil, then uncover enough to prevent a boilover and cook for 20 minutes. Keep the boil lively but not violent; hard turbulence knocks the legs apart without cooking the flesh any better.

   The lobsters must remain covered by the court-bouillon. If your pot cannot hold both properly, use two pots with equal quantities of the same prepared court-bouillon rather than diluting it with plain water.
4. 4

   Finish potatoes and butter

   The source describes the potatoes as cooked à l'anglaise, which here means plainly boiled until floury and dry. Its separate cross-reference to Anglaise (for Egg-and-bread-crumbing) (No. 174) is preserved for linking but is not applied, because an egg-and-crumb coating would contradict the stated preparation. Drain the tender potatoes thoroughly, return them to the dry pan over low heat for 30 seconds, and shake gently until their surfaces look dry and faintly floury. Cover and keep them warm. Melt the butter over the gentlest heat until liquid and butter-gold, then pour it into the warm sauceboat. Do not brown it and do not whisk it into sauce Hollandaise.

5. 5

   Drain and split

   At exactly 20 minutes, lift the lobsters out and let them drain briefly, head downward, without leaving them to sit in the hot liquid. Lay each belly-down on a towel so it cannot slide. With a heavy knife, split the shell and flesh lengthwise from head through tail, stopping just before the lower shell and tail fan separate completely, so the halves open on a hinge. Remove the small stomach sac behind the head and pull away the dark intestinal vein without rinsing out the juices. The flesh should be opaque and pearly. If the thickest tail meat remains glassy, ça se rattrape: place the lobster cut-side down in the simmering court-bouillon for 1 to 2 minutes, then check again.

6. 6

   Bring everything together

   Open the split lobsters slightly and settle them on the linen-lined platter, surrounded by the very green curled parsley. Spoon the floury potatoes into a warmed timbale or deep serving bowl and carry them to the table with the sauceboat of melted butter at the same moment. Serve one lobster half per person and let the butter pool generously over the tail and potatoes. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Choose lively hard-shell lobsters with heavy tails and intact claws. Have the fishmonger pack them cold, keep them refrigerated, and cook them the same day. Technique first, always, but lobster waits for no one.
• •Use a stockpot that gives the lobsters room while allowing five quarts of court-bouillon to cover them. A broad 12 to 14 quart pot is usually right. Crowding drops the temperature and makes the twenty-minute timing unreliable.
• •Melted butter means melted butter. Keep it pale, warm, and generous, with no lemon, no browning, and no attempt to turn the title into sauce Hollandaise. We don't apologize for butter.
• •A dry Muscadet or a mineral Chablis suits the sweet lobster and vinegar-scented court-bouillon. The bottle should refresh the mouth, not cover the clean flavor you worked to preserve.

Advance Preparation

• •Prepare the Court-bouillon with Vinegar (No. 163) up to 2 days ahead, cool it promptly, and keep it refrigerated. Bring it back to a full boil only when the rest of the service is nearly ready.
• •The potatoes may be peeled up to 4 hours ahead and held fully submerged in cold water. Drain and cover them with fresh measured water before cooking.
• •Wash and dry the parsley earlier in the day, then wrap it loosely in a clean towel and refrigerate it. Do not cook the lobster ahead; this dish depends upon immediate service.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 410g)