Hummer Thermidor til Nytaar

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large stockpot, at least 8 litres, for poaching
• •Heavy saucepan for the sauce
• •Sharp heavy knife for splitting the lobsters
• •Baking tray that fits under the grill
• •Kitchen tongs

Instructions

1. 1

   Simmer the court bouillon

   Bring the water, 250ml of white wine, carrot, onion, celery, bay leaf, peppercorns, parsley stems, and salt together in a pot large enough to hold both lobsters. Let it simmer for fifteen minutes before the lobsters go anywhere near it. This is the court bouillon, the poaching liquid that gives the lobster meat its first layer of flavor. Plain water would cook the meat, but it would not season it. The wine and aromatics do that work.

   If your pot is too small for both lobsters at once, poach them one at a time. Crowding the pot drops the temperature and the timing falls apart.
2. 2

   Poach the lobsters

   Bring the court bouillon to a rolling boil. Place the lobsters in head first, which is the quickest and most humane method. Cover the pot and let it return to a boil. From that moment, cook for eight minutes for 500g lobsters. The shells will turn bright orange-red and the antennae will pull away easily if you tug them. Lift the lobsters out with tongs and set them on a tray to cool for five minutes. Reserve 200ml of the court bouillon for the sauce.

   If you are uncertain whether the lobster is cooked, pull one antenna. If it comes away without resistance, the lobster is done. If it holds, give it one more minute.
3. 3

   Break down the lobsters

   When the lobsters are cool enough to handle, lay each one on its back and split it lengthwise down the center with a heavy, sharp knife. Remove and discard the stomach sac (a small gritty pouch near the head) and the intestinal vein that runs down the tail. If you find any green tomalley or red coral, set it aside in a small bowl. Both are intensely flavored and belong in the sauce. Crack the claws with the back of the knife and extract the meat in whole pieces if you can. Pull the tail meat from each half shell. Cut all the lobster meat into generous bite-sized pieces. Keep the four shell halves intact and wipe them clean. These are your serving vessels.

4. 4

   Build the sauce base

   Melt 50g of butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook them gently until they are soft and translucent, about three minutes. You do not want color on them. Browned shallots taste sharp and sweet, and that competes with the lobster. Pour in the remaining 150ml of white wine and let it bubble until it has reduced by half. The wine needs to concentrate before the cream goes in, otherwise the sauce tastes thin and boozy.

   You'll know the wine has reduced enough when the liquid barely covers the shallots and the smell shifts from sharp alcohol to something rounder and almost fruity.
5. 5

   Add cognac and cream

   Pour in the cognac. If you are cooking over a gas flame, it may ignite on its own. If not, tilt the pan slightly to catch the flame, or simply let the alcohol cook off over two minutes. The flambé is not theatre. It burns off the raw alcohol quickly and leaves behind only the warm, rounded depth of the cognac. Once the flames die or the liquid has reduced to a syrupy film, add the 200ml of reserved court bouillon and the double cream. Stir it together and let the sauce simmer gently for eight to ten minutes until it coats the back of a spoon and holds its line when you draw a finger through it. Season with salt, white pepper, and lemon juice. Taste it. The sauce should be rich but not heavy, with a clean finish from the lemon.

   If you saved any tomalley or coral, stir it in now while the sauce simmers. It melts into the cream and gives the sauce a deeper, more concentrated lobster flavor that nothing else can replicate.
6. 6

   Finish the sauce off the heat

   Take the saucepan off the heat entirely. This is the step where the sauce becomes Thermidor, and the order matters. Stir in the Dijon mustard now, off the heat, because the volatile compounds in mustard that give it its bite break down and turn bitter when they are cooked. Off the heat, the mustard keeps its warmth and sharpness without becoming acrid. Whisk the two egg yolks in a small bowl. Pour a few spoonfuls of the warm sauce into the yolks, whisking constantly, to temper them. Then pour the yolk mixture back into the saucepan and stir it through. The yolks give the sauce its body and its golden color. If you add them directly to the hot sauce without tempering, they will scramble into threads, and you will have to start again. Stir in half of the grated Gruyère and the chopped tarragon. The cheese melts into the sauce and the tarragon lifts everything with a quiet anise note that is the signature of Thermidor.

7. 7

   Fill the shells

   Heat the grill (broiler) to high. Arrange the four lobster shell halves on a baking tray. Fold the lobster meat gently into the sauce, coating every piece. Spoon the mixture back into the shells, dividing it evenly and mounding it slightly in the center. Scatter the remaining Gruyère over the top and dot each shell with a small piece of the finishing butter. The butter helps the cheese brown evenly and keeps the surface from drying under the grill.

8. 8

   Broil until golden

   Place the tray under the grill, about 10cm from the element. Watch it closely. This takes three to five minutes. The cheese should bubble and turn deep gold with darker spots at the edges. The sauce should just begin to blister at the rim of the shell. Pull the tray the moment the color is right. The lobster meat underneath is already cooked. All you are doing here is building the gratin crust that makes the dish. Scatter the chervil or parsley over the top and serve immediately on warm plates.

   Leave the oven door slightly ajar while the grill runs, so you can see the color developing. Ten seconds is the difference between golden and burnt under a hot grill.

Chef Tips

• •Buy your lobsters live from a trusted fishmonger and cook them on the same day. A good fishmonger will pack them in damp seaweed or newspaper for the journey home. Keep them cold, never in fresh water, which kills them.
• •European lobster, hummer, from Scandinavian waters has a sweetness and density of flesh that is different from its American cousin. If you cannot find European lobster, the dish still works with North American lobster, but the meat is softer and you may need to reduce the poaching time by a minute.
• •The sauce can be made up to the point before you add the mustard and egg yolks, then held warm for up to thirty minutes. Finish it with the mustard, yolks, and cheese only when you are ready to fill the shells. This lets you pace the dinner without rushing the final steps.
• •Serve with something simple alongside. A green salad dressed with lemon and good oil, or steamed new potatoes if you can find them. The sauce is rich enough. The side should be clean and quiet.
• •Open something worth drinking. A good white Burgundy or a vintage champagne. This is the last dinner of the year. Tak for mad.

Advance Preparation

• •The court bouillon can be made earlier in the day and reheated to a rolling boil before the lobsters go in. Strain out the vegetables first if you like a cleaner poaching liquid.
• •The lobsters can be poached and broken down up to two hours ahead. Keep the meat covered in the fridge and the shells on the tray, ready to fill. Bring the meat to room temperature before folding it into the warm sauce.
• •The sauce base (through the cream reduction) can be made an hour ahead and held warm. Add the mustard, egg yolks, and cheese only at the last moment, just before you fill the shells and grill.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 330g)