Lobster, Baked (Homard au Gratin)

Ingredients

• 1 lobster
• 2 table-sps. white sauce
• 1 tea-sp. chopped parsley
• 1 tea-sp. anchovy essence
• 2 table-sps. white bread-crumbs
• 1 yolk of egg
• Grated lemon rind
• Asqueeze of lemon juice
• Salt
• pepper
• 1 table-sp. browned crumbs
• A little butter

Method

1. 1

   Boil the lobster and cut the shell in half lengthwise.

2. 2

   Remove the meat and chop it.

3. 3

   In a saucepan, mix the meat with white sauce, parsley, breadcrumbs, and seasonings.

4. 4

   Add the yolk of egg last.

5. 5

   Grease the shell, fill with the mixture, sprinkle with browned breadcrumbs, and add butter.

6. 6

   Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

7. 7

   Serve hot, garnished with parsley and lemon.

As published

This recipe was extracted from Cookery for every household (1914) by Florence B. Jack, page 171. The excerpt below is the record exactly as published.

1 yolk of egg. Lemon juice. Pepper and salt. A few browned bread- crumbs. Prepare the crab and shell as in Recipe 293. Put the white sauce into a small saucepan, and make it hot, add to it the meat of the crab, broken very small, the chopped mushroom and seasoning. Simmer slowly for 15 minutes, stirring frequently, then add the yolks of egg and cream. Grease the well-washed shell and sprinkle the inside with a few bread-crumbs. Fill it up with the mixture, 107 sprinkle with more bread-crumbs, and put a small piece of butter on the top. Bake in a quick oven from 7 to 10 minutes, or until thoroughly hot. Serve garnished with cut lemon and sprigs of parsley. Sufficient for 3 or 4 persons. 300. Potted Crab 1 boiled crab. 2 to 3 oz. butter. A squeeze of lemon juice. 1 tea-sp. anchovy es- sence. Cayenne pepper. Pick all the meat from the crab, and pound it in a mortar with the seasoning. Add some of the butter melted, pound again, and then rub through a fine wire sieve. Pack the mixture into little pots, run some melted butter over the top, and bake in a moderate oven for 20 minutes. Cover again with melted butter if the former lot has soaked in, and set aside to cool, when it will be ready for use. The potted crab must be served in the jar, garnished with a little parsley. 301. Scalloped Crab (Crabe aux Coquilles) Make in the same way as Dressed Crab (Hot), serving the mixture in scallop shells instead of the crab shell. 302. Crab Souffles, Hot or Cold (Souffl6es de Crabe) Make in the same way as Fish Souffles (Recipe 360). Lobster (Homard) The lobster is considered more of a luxury than the crab, as it is much more expensive. The flesh is firmer in texture and more delicate in flavour. They are frequently bought alive, when they are a blue-black colour and do not become their well- known red colour until after cooking. A medium- sized lobster is best, and one that is heavy in pro- portion to its size. The hen lobster is valuable on account of the spawn, which gives such a beautiful red colour to sauces, &c., but for actual flavour the cock lobster is best and the flesh is firmer r it is more slender in form than the hen lobster. The lobster must be bought and used as fresh as possible. If bought alive the lobster should be strong and active in its movements. If ready cooked, the tail should be pressed tightly against the body, and should spring back sharply when pulled out straight with the fingers. Lobsters with white shell-like incrustations on the shell should be avoided, as this is generally an indication of age. The flesh of the lobster is very dry and is gene- rally served with an accompaniment of oil and vinegar, or with a sauce made with oil. To Kill a Lobster Lobsters should be killed before being cooked by running a skewer or sharp-pointed knife through the spinal cord at the joint between the body and tail shells. 303. Lobster, To Boil Have ready on the fire a deep saucepan of boiling water, with salt added to it in the proportion of 1 table-spoonful to I quart. Plunge in the lobster 108 COOKERY FOR EVERY HOUSEHOLD head-foremost, boil quickly a minute, and then simmer slowly until the lobster is ready. A lobster weighing 2 lbs. will require about 25 minutes’ boiling. If boiled too long the meat becomes hard and thready. Remove any scum that may rise on the water. Lift out the lobster when ready, drain well, and if the shell has to be used in the serving up, rub it over with a little butter or salad oil to give it a glossy appearance. The lobster should be used as soon as possible ; if it has to be kept overnight, do not remove the meat from the shell until just about to serve it. Note. — Fish stock (see p. 78) may be used in- stead of water. 304. Lobster, Plainly Dressed Boil the lobster as directed above, and rub over the shell with a little salad oil or melted butter to give it a glossy appearance. When cold, remove the two large claws from the body and crack them well. Then separate the head part from the tail, and split the tail in half down the middle, removing any uneatable parts. See below. To serve, stand the head upright on a dish, and arrange the cracked claws and split tail round. Garnish with fresh parsley or salad, and serve accompanied with oil and vinegar. To Extract the Meat from a Lobster Allow the lobster to cool after boiling. Twist off the claws, crack the large claws, and pick out all the meat ; the small claws are only used for garnishing. Split the body lengthwise from head to tail, using a strong knife and hammer if necessary. Remove the intestine, which looks like a small vein, running through the back of the tail, the stomach or lady, which lies near the head, and the spongy- looking fingers or gills. These three are the only parts which are not good. Take out all the meat from the body, also the greenish-looking liver, which can all be used. The coral, and spawn if there is any, are sometimes put aside for decorative purposes. The lobster meat can then be chopped or left in pieces according to the purpose for which it is to be used. 305. Lobster, Baked 1 lobster. 2 table-sps. white sauce. 1 tea-sp. chopped parsley 1 tea-sp. anchovy es- sence. 2 table-sps. white bread- crumbs. (Homard au Gratin) 1 yolk of egg. Grated lemon rind. Asqueeze of lemon juice. Salt, pepper. 1 table-sp. browned crumbs

Cook this with the app: pantry check, scaling, and the assistant.