Baked Stuffed Lobster


Shown after the baking is done, just before broiling.
The tail has been straightened somewhat and I'm ready to add the
bread crumbs, and put it under the broiler.

Ingredients:
Lobster (live Maine Lobster) About 1½ lb.
Stuffing:
½ cup Canned Crab Meat
¼ cup Onion Diced small
¼ cup Celery Sliced thin
2 Tbsp Butter
2 Tbsp Bread Crumbs (I like Progresso)

Those are all approximations, because the stuffing you like might be a little different.
Preheat the oven to about 350°. After slicing and dicing all the ingredients, melt the butter in a small frying pan. Add the onion and celery and cook until translucent, or just very slightly brown. Dump in the Crab meat and stir well, turning occasionally. The object here is to begin to cook the stuffing just a little to make it stick together. Once it's all uniformly warmed (maybe 3 minutes), add about ½ of the breadcrumbs and stir well. Remove from heat. (This is actually the beginning of Crab Cakes.)
Now for the fun part. With a sharp pointed knife, slice the underside of the live lobster from just below the head to about halfway down the tail. I recommend earplugs for this due to the incredible screams of the lobster. Spread it open and remove with a spoon, the stomach, intestines (just below the head) and any coral and/or roe present. The coral and roe may be used in the stuffing if so desired. While it's still squirming, pack the heated stuffing into the cavity. Put it on its back in a shallow baking pan (as shown). The tail will probably be curled way up but that's OK for now. These things can be such babies sometimes. Bake for about 25-30 minutes. It won't be quite done at this point. Put on the remaining bread crumbs and press lightly into stuffing. At this point you can straighten out the tail somewhat since it just doesn't care anymore. Start the broiler on high. Put the pan on the top rack and let it rip for about 5-10 minutes, until you see light wisps of smoke coming from the lobster tail end. That's usually a pretty good signal it's done.
This one was cooked for George for her birthday. She said it was great. I got some claw pieces, which are my favorite, and some of the stuffing. Not bad if I do say so myself.



Survival Cooking. bill brower, 16-Jan-2007

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