Lobster Sauce

Ingredients

• a quarter of a pound of butter
• rather less than half a pint of water
• a dessert-spoonful, or perhaps rather less, of lobster butter
• one piece and mix it with an equal quantity of flour
• sufficient meat for the sauce out of a tin of lobster
• about a saltspoonful of cayenne pepper to every three tablespoonfuls of lobster butter
• a little lemon juice

Method

1. 1

   Cut the butter into six equal parts.

2. 2

   Mix one piece with an equal quantity of flour and place in the oven until dissolved.

3. 3

   Mix well, add water, and let it boil.

4. 4

   Add lobster butter and mix until red.

5. 5

   Gradually add the remaining butter, keeping it hot but not boiling.

6. 6

   Cut up lobster meat and add to the sauce.

7. 7

   Just before serving, add lemon juice.

As published

This recipe was extracted from The housekeeper's guide to preserved meats, fruits, vegetables, &c (1880), page 129. The excerpt below is the record exactly as published.

lobster sauce. Cooks know at HOUSEKEEPER'S GUIDE . 87 . certain seasons of the year how ex- tremely difficult it is to get fresh lob- ster ; indeed, very often lobster cannot be obtained at all, but equally good sauce can be made by using tinned lobster. Lobster sauce is simply pieces of lobster warmed up in melted butter. We will first of all take a high-class model. Those who have been fortunate enough to dine at that well-known place, the Freemasons’ Tavern, will remember that the lobster sauce there is of a deep red colour, in fact the same colour as red lead, and that the sauce itself has a very strong lobster flavour ; indeed, there is quite as much flavour in the sauce as in the lobster itself. I will explain how this colour and flavour are obtained. The deep red colour is made by the addition of lobster butter. Lobster butter is made by mixing the boiled red coral of lobster with some butter till it becomes a smooth rich red paste, resembling, as I have said, red lead. A little cayenne pepper should be added, and the lobster butter should be put away in a small jar. I would strongly urge on all cooks, who have any pretension to the name, to invaria- bly have by them a small quantity of lobster butter. When lobsters are in season cooks should get their fish- mongers to supply them with as much lobster coral as possible. The red coral out of crayfish is equally good. Of course the coral must be boiled. Mix the red coral with about an equal quantity of butter till the whole becomes a smooth paste. Then put in about a saltspoonful of cayenne pepper to every three tablespoonfuls of lobster butter, and see that the cayenne pepper is well mixed in. Should the cook anticipate keeping the lobster butter for a long period, more cayenne should be added, as, of course, the more cayenne it con- tains the longer it will keep. The jar should then be put away handy for use, with some clarified butter over the top. If a small piece of bladder is tied over it the lobster butter will keep good for months. We will now suppose the cook lias taken the precautioif to have by her some lobster butter, which will enable her to make lobster sauce as follows : — Take a quarter of a pound of butter and cut it into six equal parts. Take one piece and mix it with an equal quantity of flour, and place it in a saucer in the oven till the butter has dissolved. Then with a spoon mix the butter and flour well together. Next take rather less than half a pint of water, add the butter and flour to this, and let it boil. This will, of course, make the water thick. Next add a dessert-spoonful, or perhaps rather less, of lobster butter, and dis- solve this thoroughly till the whole becomes a deep red mixture. Now add gradually the remainder of the butter, taking care that the sauce does not get too hot. It should be kept hot, but should not be allowed to boil. Next cut up sufficient meat for the sauce out of a tin of lobster and add this to the sauce. Owing to the lobster butter containing cayenne pepper there will bq no occasion to add any more cayenne. Just before sending to table the cook should add a little lemon juice

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