Whether it’s a birthday, a romantic meal, or a special celebration, if you pull this off, you will not disappoint! If you’re feeling intimidated, not to worry. We’ll break down all the steps, from processing the lobster to baking it to perfection in the oven.
A Recipe I Learned In A Restaurant Kitchen
I learned how to make this baked stuffed lobster while working at a restaurant in the Catskills during my summer vacations as a teen, and into my college years. While I worked on the Chinese food side of the house making pork fried rice, shrimp and lobster sauce, mountains of egg rolls, and platters of ginger scallion lobster, I still managed to learn how to work the line on the American food side, too. When the American side of the house got busy, I seared steaks, made veal cordon bleu, eggplant parmesan, and caesar salad dressing. But I only got to watch the other chefs prepare the baked stuffed lobsters, which were big ticket items that had to be prepared with care. Every time a baked stuffed lobster was ordered, the kitchen smelled of delicious butter (in those days, we used butter by the ladle-full!) and seafood, and I had to remind myself that the lobsters were not for the kitchen help! My father, the head chef, flawlessly reproduced the baked stuffed lobster at home for my mom’s birthday one year, and dang, was it good! This dish was always one of the most memorable and splashy dishes on the menu. The managers of the Holiday Inn Restaurant, Flo and Herbie, were also memorable people. Herbie was always in and out smoking a big stogie, and his wife Flo managed the dining room. On the weekends, they would treat themselves by ordering the 21-ounce steak medium rare, and Flo would go for the baked stuffed lobster. You could order it stuffed with shrimp for an extra up-charge, and Flo never said no to that! This Baked Stuffed Lobster recipe brought back lots of great summer memories, and also turned out to be an awesome father’s day dinner this year. If you’re looking for a more warm-weather friendly summer lobster recipe, check out our Lobster Rolls with an Asian Twist. It includes full instructions on how to crack lobsters to extract the meat. Hope you enjoy this classic stuffed lobster recipe!
Baked Stuffed Lobster: Recipe Instructions
Always start with fresh live hard shell lobsters from your local market or fish store. Most of the time, you will find hard shell lobsters at your local store. But sometimes, lobsters have a softer shell just after molting and their shells are not yet fully hard. Soft shell lobsters contain more water. In my opinion, they have a sweeter taste and a more tender texture, but they do contain a lot of water and less meat. Ultimately, a good, live hard shell lobster is best for baking. Refrigerate your lobsters in the wax bag you get from the market. This will keep them alive and fresh until you are ready to process them. The cold temperature will also keep them less active so they are easier to prepare. Putting them into the freezer for 10 minutes will also do the trick. This slows their metabolism and de-sensitizes them. Use a sharp chef’s knife to dispatch the lobsters. Position the point of your knife vertically in the center of the head shell, just behind the eyes. In one smooth, quick motion, drive the knife straight down until you hit the cutting board below. This instantly and humanely kills the lobster. Any movements from the lobster from here on out are just reflexes. Make sure your cutting board has outer grooves or is placed on a large kitchen towel to catch any liquid. Put each lobster on its back on the cutting board. Use a sharp chef’s knife to split it in half lengthwise without actually cutting the lobster all the way in half. Insert the tip of the knife where the shell is soft between the legs, and carefully cut down lengthwise to the tail of the lobster. Remember to stop cutting when you reach the hard shell so you don’t penetrate it. After the lobsters are split, use a pair of kitchen shears to trim off the antennae and the heads. Use both hands to split and flatten the lobsters lengthwise until they lie flat. Discard the stomach sack and intestines, which are usually transparent but filled with dark material, and the dark sand track that goes down to the tail. Use the kitchen shears to make a small cross cut in the shell (be careful not to cut the meat) about halfway up the lobster tail on each side. This will help prevent the lobster tail from curling up when it cooks in the oven. Next, remove the green tomalley and the roe, and set aside for the stuffing if you enjoy it, or discard. Rinse out each lobster under running water until clean. Pat the shells dry, and transfer to a sheet pan. Clean and rinse the shrimp, and toss with a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper. Set aside. Mix 2 tablespoons olive oil with 1 tablespoon melted butter, and brush the entire lobster––including the outside of the shells. At this point, reserve 4 tablespoons of the clarified melted butter in a small bowl for serving. (Clarified butter is the melted butter without the milk solids that float to the top.) Using a fork, mix the remaining butter with 1 cup of panko/breadcrumbs, 1/2 teaspoon paprika. 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon fresh chopped dill, if using, 1/4 cup fresh chopped flat Italian parsley (reserve 1 tablespoon of parsley for garnish), and ½ teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest. Evenly distribute the breadcrumbs into the cavities of the split lobsters, making sure you don’t pack the stuffing. It should be loose so the stuffing has a light and flakey texture. Next, lightly press five whole shrimp on top of the stuffing in each lobster. Drizzle 1 teaspoon of the reserved clarified butter on top of the shrimp. You can add more butter in this step if you like. Heck, you can add more butter at any step if you like! If the lobster tails start to curl up in the oven even after cutting crosswise cuts in the tail shell as described earlier, or if you want to minimize the curling effect, use a heatproof cast iron sandwich press or small pan to weigh down the ends of the tail during cooking. I have seen this method used in restaurant kitchens. Preheat the oven to 425°F/220°C, and arrange a rack in the upper third of the oven. Transfer the baking sheet to the oven, and bake the lobsters for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the lobster meat is translucent. Don’t overcook the lobster, and remember it will continue to cook after you take it out! You can always put it back into the oven for more time, but you can’t reverse overcooking. Transfer your lobsters to plates and sprinkle chopped parsley on top. Serve your stuffed baked lobster immediately with fresh lemon wedges and the melted butter you set aside earlier, and enjoy! Don’t forget to serve with a lobster cracker and pick if you have it. It makes eating your whole baked lobster much easier!
