Preparing Lobster Tails

by: Lee Dobbins

Lobster, once the food of poor farmers, is now considered a special treat for many. Although some people prefer the meaty claws, I think that lobster tails are the best tasting part of this delicious creature. A great meal of lobster tails might seem like a gourmet feast to your guests, but they are actually quite easy to prepare. Add a little sprig of garnish and a fancy side dish and you’re sure to impress even your mother in law.

Your lobster tails might start off a fresh or frozen, being in New England, fresh lobster is easy to come by but frozen might be all you can get in some parts of the country and in the off season. If your lobster tails are frozen, you need to thaw them out (you can cook them frozen but they will not be as tender). Put them in the fridge for 10 hours or so or thaw them in the microwave on defrost – be very careful if you choose this method as you don’t want them to start cooking in the microwave.

After they are thawed, remove the meat from the shell by cutting open the back of the shell – split it down the middle and open it up to reveal the meat. Lift the meat out – you can leave the fan part of the tail on for show or not. Remove the vein.

Boiling Lobster Tails

Boil a pot of water large enough for all the tails to float in, add 1 tsp salt for each quart of water. Drop the tails in the boiling water and cook for about 1 minute per oz thawed (so 10 0z of tails needs to cook for 10 minutes). If you are cooking a lot of tails, add a minute or two on to the total time.

Cooking Lobster Tails in the Oven
Lobster tails can be baked or broiled in the oven. To cook thawed lobster in the oven,set the oven to 400 degrees F. Brush the tails with butter and bake for 8 to 10 minutes. If broiling, place the tails 4 or 5 inches from the heat and broil for 2 – 5 minutes. When broiling keep a very close eye on them so that they don’t burn on the tops.



Cooking Lobster Tails On The Grill
Oil the grill to keep the lobsters from sticking. Put the grill on medium heat. Brush the lobster tails with butter and place on the grill. Make sure that the tails do not burn – if there are any flames on the grill move the lobster away from it. Grill on each side for 4-5 minutes.

Take care not to overcook your lobster or it will be rubbery and tasteless. Lobster is cooked when it is no longer transparent.

About the author:

Lee Dobbins is owner and editor of Online Gourmet Foods where you can find out about your favorite foods, including gourmet seafood and lobster

WAYS TO COOK BUTTERFISH

FRIED BUTTERFISH--I

Trim, draw, and clean the fish. Wipe dry,

dip in milk,

roll in flour

fry in a frying-pan in plenty of clear hot fat.

Drain on a cloth, sprinkle with salt

garnish with lemon and parsley.


FRIED BUTTERFISH--II

Clean, wash and dry the fish,

rub with flour,

season with salt and pepper,

dip in beaten egg,

then in cracker dust or sifted bread-crumbs.

Fry in deep fat.



FRIED BUTTERFISH--III

Clean and gash the fish,

roll in corn-meal

saute in hot salt pork fat.

Serve with Tartar Sauce.



BOILED BUTTERFISH

Cover well-cleaned

lightly-gashed butterfish with boiling water,

season with one chopped onion, parsley and thyme,
salt and pepper.

Boil gently for about ten minutes if small.

Take from the water,

serve with scalded milk seasoned with butter, epper, salt,
and minced parsle

BAKED HALIBUT

Because of its size, halibut is cut into slices and sold in the form of steaks. Halibut slices are often sauted, but they
make a delicious dish when baked with tomatoes and flavored with onion, lemon, and bay leaf.
2 c. tomatoes
Few slices onion
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
2 thin slices bacon
1 Tb. flour
2 lb. halibut steak

Heat the tomatoes, onion, and bay leaf in water.

Add the salt and pepper and cook for a few minutes.

Cut the bacon into small squares, try it out in a pan,
and into this fat stir the flour.

Pour this into the hot mixture, remove the bay leaf,

and cook until the mixture thickens.

Put the steaks into a baking dish,

pour the sauce over them,

and bake in a slow oven for about 45 minutes.

Remove with the sauce to a hot platter and serve.

TWENTY-SIX WAYS TO COOK BLUEFISH Pt. #2

BAKED BLUEFISH WITH WHITE WINE SAUCE

Put a cleaned bluefish into a buttered pan with salt, pepper, minced
parsley, sweet herbs, a sliced onion, two cupfuls of white wine,
and one cupful of white stock. Cover with a buttered paper and
cook for forty minutes, basting as required. Take out the fish,
strain the sauce, and thicken with a tablespoonful of flour cooked
in butter. Boil for ten minutes, add three tablespoonfuls of butter,
the juice of half a lemon and three egg yolks well beaten. Bring
to the boil, pour over the fish, and serve.

BAKED BLUEFISH A LA NAPLES

Prepare the fish according to directions given for Baked Bluefish--II.
Fry in butter for five minutes two tablespoonfuls each of chopped
onion, carrot, and lean raw ham. Add twelve pepper-corns, two cloves,
and a sprig of marjoram. Add two and one half tablespoonfuls of
flour and cook until brown. Add gradually one cupful of brown stock
and one and one fourth cupfuls of white wine. Cook until thick,
stirring constantly, strain, reheat, pour over the fish,
sprinkle with minced parsley, and serve.

BOILED BLUEFISH

Prepare according to directions given for Boiled Bass.

BROILED BLUEFISH--I

Split the fish down the back and soak for half an hour in brine.
Rinse in fresh water, dry on a towel and broil on a buttered broiler.
Serve on a hot platter with melted butter poured over, and garnish
with watercress and sliced lemon.

BROILED BLUEFISH--II

Clean and split down the back, season with salt and pepper, and
broil according to directions previously given. Sprinkle with minced
parsley and lemon-juice and pour over a little melted butter. Serve
with a border of mashed potatoes.

PAN-BROILED BLUEFISH

Lay the fish flesh side down in a well greased, very hot pan. Turn
with a pancake-turner.

TWENTY-SIX WAYS TO COOK BLUEFISH Pt. #1

BAKED BLUEFISH A L'ITALIENNE

Score and scale the bluefish and put it into a buttered pan with
three tablespoonfuls each of white wine and mushroom liquor, a
tablespoonful of chopped onion, half a dozen chopped mushrooms
and salt and pepper to season. Cover with buttered paper and bake
for fifteen minutes. Take out the fish and add to the sauce half a
teaspoonful of beef extract, dissolved in half a cupful of boiling
water. Add a wineglassful of white wine and thicken with one
tablespoonful each of butter and browned flour. Pour the sauce over
the fish, sprinkle with chopped parsley, and serve.

BAKED BLUEFISH--I

Clean, scrape, and split the fish and take out the backbone. Gash
the flesh and insert a thin slice of salt pork under the skin.
Make a stuffing of one cupful of bread-crumbs, two tablespoonfuls
of chopped salt pork, and salt,

minced parsley, chopped onion, red pepper, kitchen bouquet, and
tomato catsup to season. Add one egg well beaten. Fill the fish and
sew up. Lay on thin slices of salt pork and bake, basting frequently
with the fat. Garnish with cress and lemon.

BAKED BLUEFISH--II

Clean a large bluefish, put into a baking-pan, pour over it a cupful
of boiling salted water, cover and bake for an hour, basting frequently.
Put on a serving platter, and thicken the sauce with browned flour,
seasoning with salt, pepper, Worcestershire and tomato catsup.
Serve with a garnish of sliced lemon.

BAKED BLUEFISH--III

Make a stuffing of bread-crumbs, two tablespoonfuls of minced onion,
a teaspoonful of minced parsley, three tablespoonfuls of butter,
one egg well-beaten, and salt and pepper to season. Stuff the fish
and tie securely. Bake in a pan with a cupful of hot water and a
tablespoonful of butter, basting frequently. Take out the fish,
boil up the sauce, add a tablespoonful of catsup, a tablespoonful
of browned flour wet with four tablespoonfuls of cold water, and
the juice of a lemon. Cook until thick, and strain.

BAKED BLUEFISH--IV

Prepare a stuffing of crumbs, grated onion, beaten egg and capers.
Stuff a large bluefish and sew up. Season with salt and pepper,
rub with butter, and add sufficient boiling water. Bake, baste
frequently, and serve with any preferred sauce.

BAKED BLUEFISH--V

Make a stuffing of one cupful of bread-crumbs, a tablespoonful of
melted butter, and salt and pepper to season. Fill the fish and
sew firmly. Gash the fish and lay strips of pork in the gashes.
Cover with crumbs, dot with butter and add sufficient boiling water
to keep from burning. Bake for an hour, basting frequently. Garnish
with parsley and lemon and serve with tomato sauce.

BAKED BLUEFISH--VI

Slit a large bluefish, take out the bone, put in a buttered baking-dish
and season with salt and pepper. Fry a chopped onion in butter, add
half a dozen chopped mushrooms, three tablespoonfuls of chopped
cooked egg-plant, and a teaspoonful of minced parsley. Add two
cupfuls of stock, and cook for fifteen minutes. Thicken with a
tablespoonful or more of flour rubbed smooth in cold water,

FORTY-FIVE WAYS TO COOK BASS Pt.6

STRIPED BASS A LA DAUPHINE

Clean and trim a striped bass. Put into a fish-kettle with salt,
pepper, a bunch of parsley, a pinch of sweet herbs, a sliced onion,
two cupfuls of white wine, two cupfuls of water, and four tablespoonfuls
of butter. Cook for forty minutes in a moderate oven, basting
frequently. Drain the fish, strain the liquor, and add enough white
stock or oyster liquor to make the required quantity of sauce.
Cook two tablespoonfuls of flour in one tablespoonful of butter,
add the liquid, and cook until thick, stirring constantly. Add
three egg yolks well beaten with four tablespoonfuls of butter,
a tablespoonful of anchovy essence, the juice of half a lemon,
and a pinch of paprika. Bring to the boiling point, pour over the
fish, and serve. Garnish with fried mushrooms.

STRIPED BASS A LA CARDINAL

Clean and trim a striped bass. Cook in a
fish-kettle with two cupfuls of water, one cupful of white wine,
four tablespoonfuls of butter, a bunch of parsley, an onion, and
a carrot, sliced, and salt and pepper to season. Simmer for forty
minutes and drain. Add two cupfuls of white stock to the liquid,
strain, and skim off the fat. Cook two tablespoonfuls of flour in
a tablespoonful of butter, add the strained liquid and cook until
thick, stirring constantly. Take from the fire and add the yolks of
four eggs, beaten with the juice of a lemon, four tablespoonfuls
of melted butter, and a pinch of paprika. Bring to the boil, then
take from the fire, add sufficient dried and pounded lobster coral
to color, pour over the fish, and serve.


STRIPED BASS A LA HOLLANDAISE

Clean and trim a striped bass and simmer half an hour in salted
and acidulated water to cover. Drain, garnish with parsley, and
serve with Hollandaise Sauce.

STRIPED BASS A LA COMMODORE

Clean and stuff a striped bass. Put into a fish-kettle with a bunch
of parsley, a cupful of mixed vegetables cut fine, a cupful of
white wine, a cupful of oyster liquor, and enough water or stock
to cover. Simmer for forty minutes and drain. Strain the gravy,
skim off the fat, and set aside. Brown two tablespoonfuls of flour
in one tablespoonful of butter, add one cupful of stock and cook
until very thick, stirring constantly. Add the strained sauce
and reheat, stirring until smooth.
Add a tablespoonful of anchovy essence, four tablespoonfuls of
butter, and lemon-juice to taste. Pour over the fish and serve.

STRIPED BASS A L'AMERICAINE

Cook together one tablespoonful each of butter and flour, add a
pint of oysters, with their liquor, and the yolks of two eggs,
well beaten. Cook until thick, stirring constantly. Prepare and
trim a striped bass, fill with the oyster mixture, season, and
sew up. Put into a fish-kettle with enough white wine and water,
in equal parts, to cover. Add a sliced onion, a bunch of parsley,
a little salt and pepper and a tablespoonful of butter. Simmer for
an hour and drain. Strain the gravy and skim off the fat. Cook
together two tablespoonfuls of flour and one of butter, add the
strained liquid and cook until thick, stirring constantly. Take from
the fire, add the yolks of four eggs beaten with four tablespoonfuls
of melted butter, the juice of a lemon, and a tablespoonful of
minced parsley. Bring to the boil, pour
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over the fish, and serve. Garnish with fried oysters.

STRIPED BASS A LA MARSEILLES

Clean a large striped bass and divide into fillets. Put into a
fish-boiler with three tablespoonfuls of butter, two large onions,
sliced, a bunch of parsley, a bay-leaf, salt and pepper to season,
and red wine and water, in equal parts, to cover. Simmer for an
hour, drain the fish, take out the parsley, strain the liquid, and
spread the cooked onions over the fish. Cook three tablespoonfuls
of flour in two tablespoonfuls of butter, add the strained liquid
and cook until thick, stirring constantly. Take from the fire, add
the juice of a small lemon, a tablespoonful of anchovy essence,
and two tablespoonfuls of butter. When the butter is melted, pour
over the fish and serve.

STRIPED BASS A LA CONTI

Clean and trim a large striped bass. Put into a baking-pan with
four tablespoonfuls of olive-oil, a small onion, chopped fine,
salt and pepper to season, a bunch of parsley, and two cupfuls
each of white wine and white stock. Cover and cook for an hour
in a moderate oven, basting often. Drain the fish and remove the
parsley. Strain the sauce. Brown
[Page 64]
two tablespoonfuls of flour in one of butter, add the strained
liquid, and cook until thick, stirring constantly. Add the juice
of half a lemon and a tablespoonful of minced parsley. Pour over
the fish and serve.