Langosta a la Mantequilla de Quintana Roo

This is from Quintana Roo. The Caribbean side of the peninsula, where the langosteros pull spiny lobster from the reefs off Puerto Morelos, Holbox, and the keys around Banco Chinchorro. There are no claws on this lobster. All the meat is in the tail. That changes how you cook it.

Grilled lobster with butter sounds like a simple dish. It is not. It is a dish that punishes overcooking and rewards good ingredients. The lobster has to be alive when you split it, or so fresh off the boat that it does not matter. The butter has to be real mantequilla, not margarine, not olive oil, and it gets epazote chopped into it because epazote is the herb of the peninsula and it ties this dish to its place. Without epazote, you have grilled lobster from anywhere. With it, you have langosta yucateca caribena.

The salsa is where Quintana Roo declares itself. Chile habanero, charred on a comal, chopped fine, dressed with lime juice and a little purple onion. Habanero is not jalapeno and it is not chile de arbol. It is the chile of the peninsula and it has a fruity heat that almost tastes tropical. Mayan cooks have been using it for centuries. The salsa goes on the side, not on the lobster. Each diner dresses each bite. La mantequilla suaviza, el habanero despierta. The butter softens, the habanero wakes you up. Saber cocinar es saber vivir.