Cold Lobster with Various Sauces

Homard froid aux sauces diverses (cold lobster with various sauces) teaches one true thing: cool shellfish promptly in the liquor that cooked it, and the meat stays succulent instead of tightening and drying. The court-bouillon seasons gently through the shell, while the cold mayonnaise derivative brings richness at the table without covering the lobster's sweetness.

The original recipe assumed a great pot of court-bouillon already at hand and a saucier on staff with several mayonnaise derivatives waiting. Your kitchen needs one stockpot, an ice-water bath, two lobsters, and one cup of one finished sauce. We reduce the brigade quantity and the elaborate buffet wreath because they are scaffolding; cooking in court-bouillon, cooling in that same liquor, and serving the sauce separately are the dish, so those stay exactly where they belong. One cook, one stove, one evening.

The finished platter is generous and wonderfully direct: coral-red shells, pearly meat, opened claws, crisp lettuce, and a cold sauce bright with either tomato and capsicum or green herbs. The one step that decides everything is the cooling, with the lobster submerged while the court-bouillon moves quickly from hot to thoroughly cold.