Chef Juliette
Oriental Sauce
Sauce Orientale concentrates lobster-rich American Sauce with curry, then folds in cream away from the fire: a glossy, gently spiced derivative made for lobster, crayfish, and firm fish.
Culinary Explorer
A cooking platform built around craft, culture, and the stories behind what we eat.
Second Method (with Cooked Lobster)
Created by Chef Juliette
Cooked lobster tail, butter, and dry Sherry become Sauce Newburg through one decisive act: reduce almost dry, then bind off the fire with cream and yolks while the pan keeps moving.
Sauces & Condiments
French
Dinner Party
Special Occasion
20 min
Active Time
15 min cook•35 min total
Yield4 first-course servings
Sauce Newburg, deuxième méthode (Newburg sauce with cooked lobster), teaches the discipline of a liaison, a cream-and-egg-yolk binding. The Sherry must be reduced until only its concentrated perfume remains, then the pan's stored heat must thicken the liaison without ever boiling it. That is the dish: reduction first, restraint second.
The original method assumed a saucier standing at service, cooked lobster already waiting, and a broad sauté pan that could move from flame to pass in one motion. A stockpot never off the fire and a salamander have no work here; at home, one 12-inch pan, a bowl, and four warm plates are the honest equivalents. The brigade's holding and repeated batches are scaffolding and can go. The quick Sherry reduction, the off-fire liaison, and the rolling of the pan stay exactly where they are. One cook, one stove, one evening.
When it lands, coral-edged lobster rests beneath an ivory-gold sauce, rich with butter and rounded by Sherry, with cayenne arriving as warmth rather than noise. Have the guests seated before you begin. Take the pan fully off the flame before the liaison enters, because that is the one step deciding whether Sauce Newburg turns to silk or to scrambled egg.
Sauce Newburg's real home is New York City's grand dining rooms, not a French region, and French classical manuals kept its American name while absorbing its reduction-and-liaison method into the canon. The spelling traveled from Newberg to Newburg through service custom, but the defining practice remained lobster warmed in butter, Sherry reduced almost away, and cream with egg yolks bound off the fire. The source extends the sauce to fillets or Mousselines of sole, individual molded portions, with lobster as garnish, while this second method keeps the cooked lobster at the center.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
large whole cooked lobster
Quantity
1, about 2 to 2½ pounds (900 g to 1.1 kg)
cooked in court-bouillon and cooled
unsalted butter
Quantity
3 tablespoons (45 ml / 42 g)
softened
fine sea salt
Quantity
½ teaspoon (2.5 ml / 3 g), plus more only if needed
cayenne pepper
Quantity
¼ teaspoon (1.25 ml / 0.5 g)
dry Sherry, preferably amontillado
Quantity
1½ cups (360 ml / 355 g), or enough to just cover the lobster slices
heavy cream
Quantity
⅔ cup plus 2 tablespoons (190 ml / 190 g)
divided
large egg yolks
Quantity
2
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| large whole cooked lobstercooked in court-bouillon and cooled | 1, about 2 to 2½ pounds (900 g to 1.1 kg) |
| unsalted buttersoftened | 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 42 g) |
| fine sea salt | ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml / 3 g), plus more only if needed |
| cayenne pepper | ¼ teaspoon (1.25 ml / 0.5 g) |
| dry Sherry, preferably amontillado | 1½ cups (360 ml / 355 g), or enough to just cover the lobster slices |
| heavy creamdivided | ⅔ cup plus 2 tablespoons (190 ml / 190 g) |
| large egg yolks | 2 |
Equipment Needed
- •12-inch (30 cm) broad sauté pan with curved sides
- •Medium heatproof mixing bowl
- •Balloon whisk
- •Kitchen shears
- •Fine-mesh sieve for rescue
- •Four shallow heatproof plates
Instructions
- 1
Prepare the lobster
Remove the tail from the lobster cooked in court-bouillon, the aromatic poaching liquor used for shellfish. Cut through the soft underside of the shell with kitchen shears and ease out the tail meat intact. Remove the dark intestinal vein, then slice the meat crosswise into 8 medallions about ½ inch (1.25 cm) thick. Keep the coral-colored outer membrane attached where possible, because its color deepens beautifully in butter. Pat the slices dry and reserve the claws and body for another preparation.
- 2
Whisk the liaison
Set aside 1 tablespoon of the measured cream and keep it cold. Whisk the remaining cream with the egg yolks until completely smooth but not frothy. This is the liaison, the cream-and-yolk binding that gives Sauce Newburg its body. Let it lose its refrigerator chill for about 10 minutes while you begin the lobster; an icy liaison would rob the pan of the gentle heat needed to thicken it.
- 3
Warm in butter
Spread the softened butter generously across the bottom of a broad 12-inch sauté pan. Set it over medium heat until the butter melts and its foam settles, without letting it brown. Arrange the lobster medallions in one layer and season them firmly with the salt and cayenne. Warm for 20 to 30 seconds per side, just until the coral membrane reddens and the butter coats the flesh. The lobster is already cooked, so color and heat are the aim, not a second cooking.
- 4
Reduce the Sherry
Pour in enough dry Sherry to cover the lobster slices narrowly and bring it to a brisk simmer. Reduce for 4 to 6 minutes, rolling the pan occasionally, until the wine has almost entirely disappeared and only 2 to 3 glossy tablespoons remain around the lobster. The raw alcoholic edge should be gone, leaving a concentrated nutty fragrance. Use a broad pan so this happens quickly; a narrow saucepan prolongs the reduction and turns cooked lobster firm. Pull the pan from the flame before the last liquid evaporates, or the butter and Sherry will catch.
- 5
Complete the liaison
Move the pan to a cool burner. Immediately pour the liaison around the lobster, then stir gently while rolling the pan in small circles so the sauce washes continuously over the slices. The retained heat will thicken it within 1 to 2 minutes to a soft nappant consistency, meaning it coats a spoon while remaining fluid. Never let it boil. If yellow streaks or graininess appear, set the pan at once on a cold damp towel and whisk in the reserved cold cream; if small flecks remain, pass the sauce through a fine sieve and return it to the lobster. Ça se rattrape. If no rescue was needed, roll the reserved cream into the smooth sauce at the end.
- 6
Dish without delay
Taste the sauce and correct the salt or cayenne only if needed. Divide the lobster medallions among four warmed shallow plates and spoon over every drop of the glossy liaison. Serve immediately, because an egg-bound sauce neither waits nor improves by reheating. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Use a dry Sherry with some backbone, preferably amontillado. Sweet cream Sherry makes the liaison cloying, while an opened bottle that has gone flat leaves the reduction without its nutty depth.
- •The source uses the tail meat only. Keep the cooked claws and body chilled for a salad, bisque, or omelette rather than crowding them into this pan and changing the preparation.
- •The broad pan is not decoration. It lets the Sherry reduce rapidly enough to concentrate before the already-cooked lobster toughens, then gives you room to roll the liaison without breaking the medallions.
- •For a dinner party, serve Sauce Newburg as a modest first course and have everyone seated before the liaison enters the pan. Its richness is generous, and its timing is exact.
- •For guests who must avoid lightly cooked eggs, use pasteurized egg yolks. The finished liaison should be thoroughly hot and softly thickened, but it must never reach a boil.
- •Pour a small glass of the same dry Sherry, or a firm, dry Champagne. The drink needs enough freshness to meet the butter and cream without arguing with the lobster.
Advance Preparation
- •The lobster may be cooked in court-bouillon up to one day ahead. Chill it in its shell, well covered, then remove and slice the tail shortly before cooking so the meat stays moist.
- •The Sherry, butter, salt, and cayenne can be measured before the guests arrive. Warm the serving plates and leave them ready beside the stove.
- •The liaison may be whisked up to 30 minutes ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator. Bring it out about 10 minutes before use, keeping the reserved tablespoon of cream cold for the rescue.
- •Do not make the finished Sauce Newburg ahead. Reheating threatens the liaison and toughens the lobster; the entire final cooking takes about 10 minutes once the mise en place is ready.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 150g)
Calories
345 calories
Total Fat
28 g
Saturated Fat
17 g
Trans Fat
1 g
Unsaturated Fat
10 g
Cholesterol
250 mg
Sodium
590 mg
Total Carbohydrates
4 g
Dietary Fiber
0 g
Sugars
2 g
Protein
14 g
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