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Butter-Poached Maine Lobster with Leeks, Pommes Maxim, and a Red Beet Essence
The French Laundry - Homarus americanus

English explorers started taking lobsters in Maine as early as 1605 and in 1880 they were so plentiful that they sold for two cents a pound in Boston. When my dad, Robert E. WOTTRICH was 14, his parents spent the summer in the tiny town of Camden beside Penobscot Bay in Maine. Camden was known as “the prettiest town in Maine” at the time, which was 1937. My grandfather Wilfred arranged for my dad to ride out on the lobster boats as a junior hand each of several mornings.

Fast forward to my days at Dartmouth College in 1964-1968, we would drive to Boston and pick up “chicken” lobsters (one pound or less) right on the docks for $1.00 each. We’d bring them back in the trunks of our cars along with buckets of steamers and seaweed and steam them over coals in big new galvanized garbage cans for the Green Key weekend each spring. Those trunks never smelled the same again!

As House Manager at Bones Gate fraternity (Delta Tau Delta) I was responsible for the lobster dinner. As chef this meant I could eat as much lobster as I was able and that was a considerable amount at the time. The trick was to stay away from cheap New York State champagne, which when combined with lobster usually made our dates quite ill!

So suffice it to say that I have boiled my share of Maine lobsters over the years. Imagine my surprise when I opened up a gift copy of “The French Laundry Cookbook” by Thomas Keller recently and learned that there was a better way to cook lobster! The French Laundry is the celebrated restaurant in Napa Valley, California.

Boiling lobster for several minutes in the time-honored tradition does cause the meat to seize up and become tough, and it makes it difficult to get any flavor into it. While great for summer beach parties, it loses in translation to the fine dining experience. If you take a lobster out of its shell before fully cooking it, you have more control over the taste and texture. Steep the lobster just enough so that its meat will pull away cleanly from the shell, leaving the interior raw, so you can treat it like raw fish. Try the following procedure and get ready for heaven itself.

Steeping the Lobsters: Fill a large pot with enough water to cover three 1 ½ to 2-pound live lobsters and bring to a boil. Add ½ cup of vinegar for every 8 quarts of water. Pour the boiling water onto the live lobsters in another pot and steep for 2 minutes if using 1½ pound lobsters, or 3 minutes for 2-pound lobsters. Remove the lobsters from the water, turn off the heat, but do not discard the water. One at a time, using a towel or rubber gloves to hold the lobster, grasp its tail and twist and pull to detach it. Twist and pull off the claws and return them to the water for 5 minutes. Reserve the bodies.

For the Tails: Hold each tail flat and twist the tail fan to one side, pull off and discard. Use your fingers to gently push the meat through the tail end and pull the meat out through the large opening at the other end. Lay the tail meat on its back and cut lengthwise in half through the middle. Remove the vein running through the top of the meat. Lay the meat on a paper towel-lined plate or platter, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

For the Claws: After 5 minutes, remove the claws from the hot water. Twist off each knuckle to remove it. Hold the claw in your hand and pull down to loosen the lower pincher. Push it to either side to crack it and pull it straight off. Ideally, the cartilage from inside the claw should be attached to the pincer and the claw meat should remain intact. Still holding the claw, crack the top of the shell with the heel of a knife, about ¾ inch from the joint where the knuckle is attached. You want to go through the shell, but not damage the meat. Wriggle the knife to loosen and crack the shell. If the shell doesn’t pop off, it may be necessary to turn the claw over and repeat the procedure. Shake the claw to remove the meat (if it doesn’t fall out, cut off the very tip of the shell and blow through the hole to release the meat).

For the Knuckles: Pull back and discard the top shell of each lobster, including the heads and antenna. Remove the tomalley, roe, lungs, and the sac behind the head. You can reserve the dark green roe for other uses, but discard the light green tomalley, feathery lungs and sac. You will be left with body and legs. Rinse them thoroughly under cold water and use immediately, or freeze them to make lobster stock or consommé.

Butter-Poached Maine Lobster with Leeks, Pommes Maxim, and a Red Beet Essence:

For the Pommes Maxim: (Which originated at Maxim’s in Paris) Preheat the oven to 300F. Peel one large 12-ounce potato and slice it into paper-thin rounds on a mandoline. Toss the rounds with clarified butter; they should be well coated. Arrange them on a Silpat-lined baking sheet, overlapping the slices by half to form a solid circular sheet of potatoes, or lay them in overlapping circles in a large ovenproof skillet. Sprinkle lightly with salt. Bake the potatoes for 45 to 50 minutes, or until they are crisp and golden brown. They may not hold together completely. These can be made hours ahead and left at room temperature.

For the Red Beet Essence: If using fresh beets, juice enough beets to make a generous cup. Reduce the beet juice slowly in a small saucepan to 2 to 3 tablespoons of glaze.

To Complete: For the lobsters, bring the pieces to room temperature. Place them in one layer in a large saucepan and add the beurre monté . The lobster should be almost covered. Place the pan over low heat and slowly poach the lobster in the butter for 5 to 6 minutes, just to heat it through.

Meanwhile, for the leeks (1 ½ cups leek rounds), warm the leek rounds in a saucepan. Add tomato diamonds (2 tablespoons), chives (2 teaspoons), Brunoise (1 tablespoon), and beurre monté (1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon).

Reheat the pommes Maxim in the oven for 2 to 3 minutes.

Bring the beet glaze to a simmer and whisk in the beurre monté (3 tablespoons), red wine vinegar (1/2 teaspoon) and a few drops of lemon juice.

Place a small spoonful of beet essence on each plate. Top with a generous tablespoon of leek mixture, a lobster tail, and a claw. Break off a piece of the pommes Maxim and place it on top of the lobster. Present. (Serves 6)

Richard Wottrich