Half Lobster with Tarragon Butter

In My French Kitchen, Alain Caron shows you how to make French classics, from artichoke with mustard vinaigrette to sole meunière and clafoutis. This lobster with tarragon butter certainly had to be included in this lineup.

Alain Caron: “As a chauvinistic Frenchman, I always thought the best lobsters came from Normandy and Brittany, but since I went out fishing for Oosterschelde lobster for the program BinnensteBuiten, I have to admit that Dutch lobster is every bit as good as French lobster. So if you get the chance, choose a lobster from Zeeland from April to July.”

Preparation
Place the live lobsters in the freezer for 30 minutes before boiling them, to stun them.

Prepare a bowl of ice-cold water and bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Boil 1 lobster for 4 minutes, place it briefly in the ice-cold water and drain. Bring the water back to the boil and repeat with the other lobster. Pull the claws off the shell and boil them for another 2 minutes. Chill them again in ice-cold water.

Cut the lobsters in half lengthwise. Remove the grey-green stomach sac at the head end and pull out the grey-green vein at the tail end.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

Loosen the meat at the tail ends and place it back upside down in the other half of the tail so that the pieces stand up nicely. Crack the claws by striking them with the blade of a heavy knife, remove the meat and place it in the head of the lobster half.

Mix the butter with the tarragon, lemon juice, fleur de sel and white pepper, and spread it in a thick layer over the lobsters. Place the lobster in a dish and bake in the oven for 5 minutes.

Spoon the lobster juices and butter over the lobster before serving.

Want to know more about Oosterschelde lobster? Then read this three-part series on what to look out for when cooking (part 1), killing (part 2) and preparing (part 3) it.

My French Kitchen
Alain Caron
€ 29,99
Carrera cuinair