Homard à la Crème

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •3 to 4-quart stainless-steel sauté pan with tight-fitting lid
• •Long match or long-reach lighter
• •Heatproof measuring cup for the brandy
• •Lobster shears, seafood pick, and sturdy tongs
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Fine-mesh sieve lined with damp cheesecloth
• •Warmed shallow serving bowl

Instructions

1. 1

   Complete the mise en place

   Have every ingredient measured before the lobster meets the pan. Slice the peeled truffle, melt the white meat-glaze, dampen the cheesecloth, and set a covered serving bowl somewhere warm but not hot. Keep the brandy in its measured cup, never in the bottle, and place a tight-fitting lid beside the sauté pan before flambéing. Mise en place means everything in its place, and here it protects both the lobster and the cook.

2. 2

   Reach the referenced stage

   Prepare the home-scaled lobster base according to Homard à la New-burg (with raw lobster) (No. 948), stopping as soon as the raw lobster pieces have stiffened and taken colour in the oil and butter. Do not continue with that preparation's Marsala, fumet, cream, or coral-butter thickener. This formula takes its own path from this point.

3. 3

   Degrease and flambé

   Lift the coloured lobster pieces briefly to a tray and pour away all free cooking fat, leaving the browned fond clinging to the pan. Return the lobster. Remove the pan from the burner, extinguish nearby flames, turn off the extraction fan, and pour in the measured brandy. Ignite it with a long match, keeping your face and sleeves back, and let the flame die by itself. If it fails to catch, don't add more brandy; return the pan to gentle heat and let the liquid bubble for 60 to 90 seconds, until the harsh alcoholic smell softens. Ça se rattrape.

4. 4

   Add truffle and cream

   The moment the flame has gone, scatter in all the sliced truffle. Pour in the fresh cream, which should come close to covering the lobster in a snug 3 to 4-quart sauté pan, then season with the salt and cayenne. Scrape the pan floor gently so the brandy-loosened fond joins the cream without damaging the shells.

5. 5

   Cook at a tremble

   Cover the pan and bring the cream only to a bare tremble, with small bubbles collecting at the edge rather than breaking violently across the surface. Cook for 12 to 15 minutes, turning the lobster pieces once, until the shell is brilliant coral and the thickest meat is opaque and reaches 140 to 145°F (60 to 63°C). A hard boil tightens the lobster and risks breaking the cream, so lower the heat whenever the bubbles become noisy.

6. 6

   Shell and hold

   Lift the lobster pieces from the cream and let them stand just long enough to handle. Remove the tail, claw, and knuckle meat from the shells, keeping the pieces generous rather than cutting them into little dice. Return any clear shelling juices to the pan, arrange the meat in the warmed serving bowl, and cover it loosely. Warm is enough; fierce holding heat would finish the cooking and turn the lobster firm.

7. 7

   Reduce without boiling

   Keep the truffle cream at a controlled simmer until it reduces to about ⅓ cup (80 ml), coats a spoon, and leaves a clear trail when you draw a finger across the back. Stir often near the end, when reduction accelerates. If the sauce looks oily or grainy, take it off the heat at once. Put 1 tablespoon of the chilled rescue cream into a clean pan and whisk in the troubled sauce one spoonful at a time until it comes together, then return it briefly to the gentlest heat. Ça se rattrape. If the sauce is merely too thick but still smooth, loosen it with a teaspoon of hot water.

8. 8

   Finish and strain

   Lower the heat completely and stir in the melted white meat-glaze, followed by the lemon juice. Do not boil the sauce again. Taste before adding more salt, since meat-glaze can carry plenty of its own, then add only another drop or two of lemon if the richness needs lifting. Pour the sauce through the damp cheesecloth-lined sieve, coaxing it through gently without pressing hard; the spent truffle slices remain behind, while their perfume stays in the sauce.

9. 9

   Sauce and serve

   Pour the strained sauce directly over the warm lobster pieces, turning them once so every surface gleams. Serve immediately, while the meat is tender and the sauce flows in a slow ivory ribbon. Nothing should be dotted, smeared, or piled into a tower. Bring the bowl to the table generously. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Ask the fishmonger to dispatch and joint the lobsters immediately before pickup if you don't wish to handle them live. Keep the pieces over ice, never sitting in meltwater, and begin cooking within 30 minutes. Technique first, always, but lobster deteriorates quickly once dispatched.
• •Use fluid pouring cream with 30 to 35% fat, not cultured crème fraîche and not a reduced-fat substitute. The sauce must reduce substantially, and real cream gives you the stability to do it. We don't apologize for cream.
• •Fresh black Périgord truffle gives the sauce its deepest perfume. Out of season, whole preserved black truffles are the classical pantry's honest answer, drained and used at the same weight, though their aroma will be quieter. Truffle oil is not an equivalent.
• •A white meat-glaze is pale, unsalted chicken or veal stock reduced until syrupy. Reduce about 2 cups (480 ml) gelatin-rich stock to the required 1 tablespoon plus ½ teaspoon (18 ml), or buy an unsalted white chicken glace. A dark brown demi-glace will muddy both the flavour and the ivory colour.
• •The source spends its truffle as an infusion and then strains it away. That looks extravagant because it is, but the point is a perfectly smooth sauce carrying truffle throughout, not visible slices arranged on top.
• •Serve with plain pommes vapeur or a restrained rice pilaf to catch the sauce. A mineral white Burgundy or dry Champagne has enough freshness for the cream without bullying the truffle.

Advance Preparation

• •Prepare the white meat-glaze up to 3 days ahead and refrigerate it covered, or freeze it in tablespoon portions for up to 2 months. Melt only the amount required before beginning.
• •Clean the truffles earlier on the day of cooking, but slice them shortly before they enter the pan so their cut surfaces don't dry out.
• •Measure the brandy, cream, seasoning, glaze, and lemon juice before the lobster is seared. Once the lobster enters the pan, the dish should move directly to the table without a long pause.
• •Do not cook the lobster or finish the sauce ahead. The meat firms as it waits, and reheating a heavily reduced cream sauce invites separation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 195g)