Best Martha Stewarts Boiled Main Lobster Recipes

MARTHA STEWART'S BOILED MAIN LOBSTER

Steps:

• Place onions, carrots, and celery in a large stockpot. Make a bouquet garni: Gather thyme, parsley, and bay leaf; tie into a bundle with kitchen string, then add to the stockpot. Fill stockpot two-thirds full with cold water; set over high heat. Bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat, and let simmer about 30 minutes.
• Add white wine and peppercorns; simmer about 15 minutes more. Return to a boil.
• Depending on size of stockpot, quickly add 4 to 6 lobsters to boiling court-bouillon, making sure the liquid covers all the lobsters.
• Allow court-bouillon to return to a boil again, and cook lobsters about 12 minutes.
• Using tongs, remove lobsters, and transfer to a platter or large bowl.
• Repeat with remaining lobsters, working in batches if necessary.
• Using kitchen scissors, trim the tip of each lobster claw; allow the liquid to drain, and discard.
• Serve lobsters with melted butter and lemons.

BOILED LOBSTERS WITH CORN AND POTATOES

Steps:

• Fill a lobster pot or other large pot two-thirds full with water. Add potatoes, onion, garlic, and salt. Cover, and bring to a boil.
• Uncover, reduce heat to medium, and cook until potatoes begin to soften, 8 to 10 minutes. Add lobsters headfirst. Cover, and cook until shells are bright red, 5 to 6 minutes. Add corn, and cook for 3 minutes more.
• Remove potatoes, lobsters, and corn from water; discard onion and garlic. Using kitchen shears, clip tips of lobster claws, and let drain. Serve potatoes, lobsters, and corn with butter.

BOILED MAINE LOBSTER

Steps:

• Boil the water in a large pot with a lid and add salt, parsley, bay leaves and peppercorns. Place the lobsters into the boiling water, making sure you leave the rubber bands on the claws (to avoid being pinched). Boil covered for about 15 minutes, then remove to a tray. (If using lobster tails only, the cooking time will be less. Boil until the meat is no longer translucent.)
• To shell the lobster, separate the tail from the body by lightly twisting. Remove the claws, and using a lobster cracker or nut cracker, extract the lobster meat and place on a serving platter.
• Put the melted butter in appropriately sized bowls for dipping the lobster pieces and enjoy!
• Note: You can keep the stock from the pot for when you need stock (for soups or other recipes) in the future. Strain, allow to cool, and freeze in labeled containers or plastic bags in 1/2 or 1 cup increments. I actually like to freeze them in ice cubes containers (each cube is about 1/8 of a cup) and then toss them into a labeled plastic bag. (Waste not, want not!)

BOILED MAINE LOBSTER

Steps:

• Place onions, carrots, and celery in a large stockpot. Make a bouquet garni: Gather thyme, parsley, and bay leaf; tie into a bundle with kitchen string, then add to the stockpot.
• Fill stockpot 2/3rds full with cold water; set over high heat. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and let simmer about 30 minutes.
• Add white wine and peppercorns; simmer about 15 minutes more. Return to a boil.
• Depending on size of stockpot, quickly add 4 to 6 lobsters to boiling court-bouillon, making sure the liquid covers all the lobsters. Allow court-bouillon to return to a boil again, and cook lobsters about 12 minutes. Using tongs, remove lobsters, and transfer to a platter or large bowl. Repeat with remaining lobsters, working in batches if necessary.
• Using kitchen scissors, trim the tip of each lobster claw; allow the liquid to drain, and discard. Serve lobsters with melted butter and lemons.

LOBSTER STOCK 101

Steps:

• Remove head sacs (behind eyes) in carapaces; discard. Remove any green tomalley or red roe; reserve for another use or discard. Wrap shells in a clean kitchen towel. Using a rolling pin, meat pounder, or hammer, break shells (some large pieces might remain).
• Heat oil in a Dutch oven or stockpot over medium heat until hot but not smoking. Add shells; cook until fragrant (do not let blacken), about 3 minutes.
• Stir in onions, carrots, celery, and garlic, and fennel (if desired). Cook, without stirring, until vegetables begin to brown, about 3 minutes. Add tomatoes, wine (if desired), peppercorns, thyme, parsley, and bay leaf.
• Fill pot two-thirds with cold water (about 4 1/2 quarts). Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer. Skim froth from surface with a ladle. Cook until broth is aromatic and flavorful, about 1 hour 45 minutes.
• Carefully pour stock through a fine sieve set over a large bowl or container. Discard solids; let stock cool completely. If not using immediately, refrigerate in airtight containers up to 3 days, or freeze up to 2 months.

PERFECT LOBSTER ROLL

Steps:

• Steam Lobster: In a large pot lined with a steamer basket, bring 1 inch of water to a boil. Drop the lobsters headfirst into the pot and cover. Reduce heat to a simmer and steam until the shells just turn bright red, 12 to 14 minutes. To check for doneness, pull on an antenna; if it releases from the shell with little resistance, the lobster is properly cooked. (Many seafood markets will do the steaming for you -- just ask.)
• Extract Meat: Hold the tail in one hand and the body in the other; twist and pull to separate. For claws and legs, twist and pull where they're attached to the body. Use lobster- or nutcrackers or a mallet to crack the shells. To get all the meat out in one swift motion, insert a fork into the underside of the tail and push up. Then chop into bite-size pieces.
• Mix, Toast, and Fill: In a bowl, stir together mayonnaise, lemon juice, and salt. Fold in chopped lobster meat. Heat a large skillet (preferably cast-iron) over medium. Generously brush top and sides of buns with butter. (Top-split are narrower than side-split, so you get a greater ratio of lobster to bread.) Place buns, flat-side down, in skillet and toast, flipping halfway through, until crisp and golden on both sides, about 3 minutes. Divide lobster meat among buns and serve, with lemon wedges and potato chips.

MAINE BOILED LOBSTERS

Steps:

• Bring the salted water to a boil in a pot large enough to hold the lobsters.
• Rinse the lobsters under cold water and quickly slide them into the boiling water.
• Cover the pot and simmer gently until the lobsters turn completely red, in about 6 minutes.
• Drain in a colander and serve immediately with melted butter or extra-virgin olive oil.

BROILED LOBSTER

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Prepare an ice-water bath. Generously salt boiling water and return to a boil. Plunge lobsters headfirst into boiling water and cook for 5 minutes; immediately transfer to ice-water bath to cool.
• Meanwhile, preheat broiler. In a small bowl, mix together butter, parsley, chives, and 1/2 teaspoon salt; set aside.
• With a large knife, cut cooled lobsters in half lengthwise. Place cut side up on a baking sheet and brush cut side with butter mixture.
• Transfer to broiler and broil until lobsters are golden brown and cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes. Sprinkle with sea salt and serve immediately with lemon wedges.

BOILED LOBSTER TAILS

Steps:

• Put court-bouillon into a large stockpot. Cover, and bring to a boil over high heat. Working in batches, plunge lobsters headfirst into water. Cover; return to a low boil. Cook until bright red and cooked through, 7 to 10 minutes. Using tongs, transfer lobsters to a platter.
• Using a kitchen towel to protect your hands, twist off tail and claws of 1 lobster; discard body. Using kitchen shears, cut along length of tail to make it easier to remove meat. Set tail aside. Separate claws from knuckles; twist and pull off pincers. With back of a knife, crack knuckle end of claw to loosen shell; remove meat. Push knuckle meat out of shell. Reserve for another use. Repeat with remaining lobsters. Refrigerate tails until ready to serve, up to 1 day. Serve with pesto and salad cream.

BOILED OR STEAMED LOBSTERS

Steps:

• To boil: Fill a very large (4-gallon) stockpot three-quarters full with cold water. Bring to rolling boil; add salt. Plunge lobsters, one at a time, headfirst into the water. Cook, uncovered, 12 to 14 minutes (from the time lobsters enter pot).
• To steam: Fit a very large stockpot with a steaming basket (or use a round wire rack or an inverted metal colander). Fill pot with cold water just to reach bottom of basket. Cover; bring to a boil. Quickly set lobsters in one layer in pot (or cook in batches). Cook, covered, 15 to 17 minutes.

BOILED MAINE LOBSTER

Steps:

• Bring to a roiling boil a large kettle of salted water.
• Place lobsters in boiling water head first. Cover and cook for 15 minutes.
• Remove and serve with melted butter.
• HOW TO EAT: Twist off the claws. Crack each claw with a nut cracker.
• Separate the tail piece from the body. Bend back and break the flippers off the tail piece. Insert a fork where the flippers have been broken off and push out the meat.
• Separate the back from the body. Open the remaining part of the body by cracking apart sideways. There is some good meat in this section.
• The small claws are excellent eating! The meat sucked out like like sipping through a straw!

LOBSTER FRA DIAVOLO

Steps:

• Fill a large stockpot two-thirds full with cold water; set over high heat. Bring to a boil. Add lobsters and return to a boil, let cook about 12 minutes. Using tongs, remove lobsters, and transfer to a platter or large bowl. Using kitchen scissors, trim the tip of each lobster claw; allow the liquid to drain, and discard. Split lobsters lengthwise.
• In a large skillet, bring Fra Diavolo sauce to a boil over medium-high heat; add wine. Transfer lobster to skillet and spoon sauce over lobster. Reduce heat, cover, and cook for 10 minutes.
• Divide lobster evenly between two plates. Serve immediately with linguine and topped with sauce.

LOBSTER BISQUE

Steps:

• Stock: In a large pot lined with a steamer basket, bring 1 inch salted water to a boil. Steam lobster tails, top-side down, until just cooked through and tails curl under, 6 to 8 minutes for small tails and 8 to 10 minutes for large. Transfer to a plate and let cool. When cool enough to handle, use kitchen shears to cut through underside of tails. Remove meat from shells; reserve shells. Run a paring knife along back of each tail and remove vein. Cut meat into bite-size pieces; cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
• Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high. Add shells and cook until fragrant and deep red in color, about 4 minutes. Add fish stock, wine, and 6 cups water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, skimming impurities from surface, until reduced to 6 cups, 40 to 45 minutes. Strain stock into a large liquid-measuring cup or heatproof bowl. Wipe out pot. (Stock can be stored in airtight containers in the freezer up to 3 months.)
• Bisque: In same pot, melt 4 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Add fennel, onion, and garlic and season with salt and pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, tomato paste, thyme, bay leaf, paprika, and cayenne; cook 1 minute. Add brandy, sherry, and strained lobster stock; season generously with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and simmer 30 minutes. Remove thyme and bay leaf.
• Working in batches, puree soup in a blender until smooth. Return soup to pot. Let cool 15 minutes. Whisk together cream and cornstarch, then stir into bisque. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring, until thickened slightly, 1 to 2 minutes. Adjust seasoning as desired.
• Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add lobster meat and cook until just warmed through, 2 to 3 minutes. Pour soup into bowls and serve, topped with lobster, fennel fronds, and a squeeze of lemon, if desired. Soup can be made in advance and stored in an airtight container in refrigerator up to 2 days.