Homard à la New-burg (with the lobster cooked)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •10 to 12-quart stockpot with lid
• •11 to 12-inch straight-sided sauté pan
• •Kitchen shears and a sharp slicing knife
• •Whisk and flexible spatula
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •1½-quart shallow heatproof serving bowl or timbale

Instructions

1. 1

   Build the court-bouillon

   Combine the water, white wine, onion, carrots, celery, parsley stems, thyme, bay leaves, peppercorns, and court-bouillon salt in a large stockpot. This court-bouillon, the brief aromatic poaching liquor, should taste distinctly seasoned and fresh rather than like a finished soup. Bring it to a boil, lower to a lively simmer, and cook for 20 minutes so the vegetables and herbs give up their aroma.

2. 2

   Poach the lobsters

   Chill the lobsters for 20 minutes while the court-bouillon simmers. Return the liquid to a full boil, lower the lobsters in headfirst, and cover until the liquid returns to the boil. Uncover, reduce to a steady simmer, and cook for about 12 minutes, until the shells are vivid red and the tail meat is opaque and springy. Lift them onto a rimmed tray and leave them just until cool enough to handle.

   If your pot cannot hold both lobsters fully beneath the liquid without crowding, poach them one at a time. The timing follows the weight of each lobster, not their combined weight.
3. 3

   Slice the tail meat

   Twist the tails from the bodies. Cut through the soft underside of each shell with kitchen shears, open the shell carefully, and remove each tail in one piece, preserving the thin red exterior membrane. Cut the meat crosswise into regular slices about ½ inch (1.25 cm) thick. Pick the claw and knuckle meat and refrigerate it for another meal; this entry calls specifically for the tail.

4. 4

   Ready bowl and liaison

   Fill a shallow heatproof serving bowl or timbale with hot water and set it aside. Whisk the egg yolk smooth in a separate bowl, then gradually whisk in the 1½ cups of heavy cream until completely homogeneous. This is the liaison. Keep it near the stove, but do not warm it directly.

5. 5

   Redden in butter

   Melt the butter in an 11 to 12-inch straight-sided sauté pan over medium heat. Season the lobster slices strongly and evenly with the fine salt, white pepper, and cayenne. When the butter foams but has not browned, lay in the slices in one layer. Heat them for 30 to 45 seconds on each side, just until the outer membrane deepens to a fine coral-red. They are already cooked, so colour them without frying them hard.

6. 6

   Reduce the Madeira

   Pour in the Madeira, which should almost cover the lobster in a snug pan. Bring it to a brisk simmer and reduce for 4 to 6 minutes, turning the slices once, until the wine has nearly disappeared and only a glossy spoonful or two clings around the buttered lobster. Do not stop while a loose pool remains. This near-dry reduction cooks away the wine's raw edge and concentrates its nutty sweetness before the cream arrives.

   Madeira is the foundation here, not a generic fortified wine. Choose a medium-dry bottle with enough acidity to stand against the cream; sweet cooking wine makes the finished sauce heavy.
7. 7

   Bind off heat

   Move the pan completely off the heat and wait 45 seconds for the fiercest bubbling to stop. Pour the liaison over the lobster and stir gently with a flexible spatula, then return the pan to the lowest heat you own. Keep the slices moving carefully until the sauce nappes the spatula, coating it in a smooth layer that holds a finger-drawn line, about 3 to 5 minutes. Keep the sauce below a simmer, ideally between 165 and 170°F (74 and 77°C); one boil can curdle the yolk. If the first grains appear, remove the lobster, set the pan on a folded cold towel, and whisk in the reserved cold cream. Ça se rattrape: strain the sauce into a clean pan, blending it briefly before straining if necessary, then warm it with great restraint and return the lobster.

8. 8

   Serve without delay

   Empty and dry the warmed timbale; it should be lukewarm, not hot enough to keep cooking the yolk. Transfer the lobster and every drop of sauce at once, arranging the regular slices so the coral edges remain visible beneath the glossy cream. Serve immediately. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Use a real Madeira you would pour into a glass. Sercial is quite dry and Verdelho a little rounder; either gives the sauce backbone without turning it sugary. Marsala and cream sherry pull the dish away from the source.
• •A straight-sided pan matters because the Madeira must almost cover the lobster yet reduce swiftly. Too broad and the slices sit dry; too small and the wine takes long enough to turn the cooked lobster firm.
• •Warm the serving bowl with hot water, then dry it. A cold bowl sets the sauce before it reaches the table, while a very hot one keeps cooking the liaison. Lukewarm is exact, not timid.
• •Serve Homard à la New-burg the moment it is bound. Pour a firm dry white wine alongside, and keep the accompaniment plain enough to collect the sauce. The lobster has already made its speech.

Advance Preparation

• •The court-bouillon can be made one day ahead, strained, chilled, and returned to a full boil before the lobsters enter.
• •Poach, shell, and slice the lobster up to 6 hours ahead. Cover the slices closely and refrigerate them, then take them out 20 minutes before the butter step so the centres are not refrigerator-cold.
• •Whisk the liaison shortly before cooking. The finished sauce cannot be held over heat or reheated carelessly, so complete the Madeira reduction only when the table is ready.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 225g)