Lobster stew is a creamy soup or stew made from lobster meat, often including butter, cream, spices, and vegetables. Lobster stock is made by boiling the shell and body parts, and fresh lobster is recommended. It can be served with croutons or oyster crackers and is best made a day in advance.
Lobster stew is a creamy soup or stew made from lobster meat. A traditional dish in Maine and popular in port cities, lobster stew can include just lobster, butter and cream, or it can contain additional spices and vegetables. Lobster stew is found in many seafood restaurants and is often made in-house.
A usual ingredient for this stew, lobster stock is easily made if the cook is working with a whole lobster. Lobster stock is created by boiling the shell and body parts in water once the cooked lobster meat is shucked. The lobster parts are removed before the stock is used in the stew.
Cayenne pepper, black pepper and salt are the spices most often added to this dish. Onions, chives and chervil can also be used to flavor the stew. Sometimes sherry wine is also added, usually to degrease the pans.
Vegetables can also be included in the lobster stew, but many recipes won’t add them. Carrots, celery, and potatoes are all common vegetables seen in this stew. Parsley can also be added.
While you can use frozen meat, it’s recommended that you get the lobster fresh. Live lobster can be cooked and then shucked before making the stew. The meat must be cut into bite-sized pieces.
The easiest way to make lobster stew is to melt the butter in a pot and brown the lobster in the butter. Once sufficiently cooked, heavy cream is added and the mixture is heated but not allowed to boil. Sometimes whole milk or half-and-half is substituted for or included in the heavy creamer.
In more complex recipes, the butter is first melted in a saucepan. If onion is included, it is added to the melted butter and left to caramelize. Then the lobster broth is added, along with the vegetables and seasonings. The stew is allowed to simmer before adding the cream. The lobster meat can first be sautéed in oil and seasoned with salt and pepper before being included in the stew.
After the lobster meat has been sautéed, the sherry wine is used to deglaze the pan. The degradation simply adds alcohol or other liquid, in order to remove the juices or small pieces of meat left by the sauté. This liquid is added to the stew along with the lobster meat.
Often served with croutons or oyster crackers, lobster stew is best when made a day in advance. Can be refrigerated overnight, then reheated the next day. You have to be careful when heating it, so it doesn’t boil.
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