Photo from dinner at the
French Laundry Restaurant in Yountville, California.
In the fall of 1999, after five years serving an inventive butter-poached lobster dish at the French
Laundry, his celebrated restaurant in Yountville, CA, chef Thomas
Keller published this recipe in his cookbook called
The French Laundry. Thomas Keller said "I wanted to find a way to cook
lobster gently, so it wouldn't be tough. I don't remember seeing it done
anywhere else, and this made perfect sense to me. Who in America hasn't
had lobster with melted butter?"
The recipe below is my
adaptation of a combination of several recipes from different sources, with my minor changes.
Don't forget to check out my seven-course
Butter-Poached Lobster Tails dinner menu which includes these fabulous Butter-Poached Lobster Tails.
More of Linda's great
Lobster Recipes and also check out check out my article
How To Buy Frozen Lobster Tails.
Butter-Poached Lobster Tails with Caviar Mousse
Recipe Type:
Seafood,
Lobster,
Caviar,
Lobster Dinner Menu
Yields: serves many
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 7 min
Ingredients:
Butter-Poached Lobster Tails
Caviar Mousse (see recipe below)
Dijon Mustard Sauce (see recipe below)
1
lobster tail, per person, shells removed and tails on
Non-salted butter, cut into small chunks
1 tablespoon water
Preparation:
Prepare Caviar Mousse and Dijon Mustard Sauce ahead of time.
Prepare Beurre Monte (see below).
When you are about an hour from serving the lobster
tails, take them out of the refrigerator and bring them to room temperature.
When ready to poach the lobster tails,
in a pan large enough to hold the lobster tails and using a cooking thermometer, bring the
prepared Beurre Monte up to at least 160° degrees F., but not over 190° degrees F.
Depending on how large and how many lobster tails you are preparing,
will determine how long to poach them; it usually takes from 5 to 7 minutes or until an instant-read
meat thermometer register an internal temperature of 140 to 145 degrees F. Do not overcook. The lobster should not be rubbery but of a soft consistency
- almost as if not completely cooked). The lobster should be white and not very
opaque in color. When done, remove them from the Beaurre Monte and serve.
This
is the type of cooking and meat thermometer that I prefer and use in my cooking. I get many readers
asking what cooking/meat thermometer that I prefer and use in my cooking and baking. I, personally, use the
Thermapen Thermometer shown in the photo on the right. Originally designed for professional users, the
Super-Fast Thermapen Thermometer is used by chefs all over the world. To learn more about this excellent
thermometer and to also purchase one (if you desire), just click on the underlined:
Thermapen Thermometer.
Beurre Monte:
Definition of Beurre Monte: Butter is an emulsification of 80% milk fat, 18% water,
and 2% milk solids. Heating butter above 160 degrees will cause it to
"break" or separate into its different composition parts. A Beuree Monte
is a techniques of keeping melted butter in an emulsified state between
180 degrees and 190 degrees, which is sufficient to poach meats or
vegetables.
Butter, cut into chunks
1 tablespoon water
Using just a little bit of water helps the emulsion process in preparing Beurre Monte.
Whether you emulsify 4 tablespoons (2 ounces) or 1 pound of butter, just one (1) tablespoon of water will do.
Determine how much butter you will need
for the Beurre Monte by placing the lobster tails in a large enough pan, side by side; add just enough
water to cover. Immediately remove the lobster tails, drain them, set
aside; and measure the water in the pan. You will need this amount of
butter to cover and poach the tails.
- In a saucepan, bring the 1 tablespoon of water
to a boil over high heat; reduce the heat to low and begin adding the chunks of
butter (a little at a time) whisking constantly to emulsify.
- Once the emulsion is started, more butter may be whisked in.
- Hold the temperature of the Beurre Monte
between 160 and 190 degrees F. for poaching. DO NOT BOIL OR THE MIXTURE WILL BREAK!
The mixture should have the consistency of a very thick butter sauce.
- Beurre Monte can be set aside on the stove after being prepared. You should use
the Beurre Monte Butter within an hour after you make it.
- The Beurre Monte can be frozen and used anytime on vegetables or seafood.
The prepared Beurre Monte can be frozen and used anytime on vegetables or seafood.
Caviar Mousse:
I adapted these recipes for Caviar Mousse and Dijon Mustard Sauce originally by Guy Martin, Le Grand
Vefour, France - Food Network Television, Episode #FW1A12
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 cups lightly whipped
cream
1 shallot, finely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
2 ounces
caviar
In a medium-size bowl, gently combine the Dijon mustard and whipped
cream until smooth. Add the finely chopped shallots and season with salt
and pepper. Gently fold in the caviar without breaking the eggs. May be
made 1 hour in advance of being served.
Dijon Mustard Sauce:
4 tablespoons
crème fraiche
4 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon white
wine
Salt and pepper to taste
In a small bowl, combine crème fraiche with Dijon mustard and white
wine until it thins out a little. Season with salt and pepper. This
sauce may be prepared several days in advance.
To Serve:
Place a
cookie ring on individual serving plate. Fill the ring with the Caviar
Mousse (carefully remove the ring, lifting upward).
Place prepared lobster tail on the Caviar Mousse.
Drizzle some Dijon Mustard Sauce around the food and sprinkle a few caviar eggs on sauce.
Drizzle a little of the Beurre Monte over the lobster tail. Repeat with remaining
portions.
