What are lobsters? Spiny lobsters are among those edible inhabitants of the deep sea, which are called seafood. What are lobsters - in their structure they resemble lobsters, only without large front claws, and shrimp, only of a much larger size. The average spiny lobster is 30-40 cm in length, weight - from 1 to 1.5 kilograms.
How to cook spiny lobsters, we will tell in this article.
Benefit and harm
Lobster meat is low-calorie (100 grams of the product contains 90-100 calories), consists of proteins (about 50%), fats, a small amount of ash and water. The chemical composition is rich in amino acids (folic and pantothenic), phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, iodine, calcium, zinc, iron, sodium and vitamins A, B, C, D, E, PP. These minerals and trace elements normalize the cardiovascular and nervous systems of the human body, strengthen bones and teeth, support the work of the heart muscle.
Like all seafood, lobster meat can cause allergies. And the rest, if you do not overeat, eating lobsters can only have a beneficial effect on human health.
How to choose lobsters
For cooking lobsters, the abdomen and tail are used for food. But the most delicious part of the spiny lobster is the tail, which is called the “neck” in the restaurant menu. It is the spiny lobsters that are considered a gourmet delicacy and delicacy. Lobster meat is very tender and tasty, white or pale pink in color.
Shelf life of chilled lobsters is just a few hours. Therefore, on sale lobsters are usually frozen.
When buying lobsters, pay attention to the ponytails - they should be bent inward, and this is the most important sign of the freshness of this seafood. Freshly frozen spiny lobsters have a rich color of shells and anthracite, shiny eyes. The mustache can be broken and damaged when frozen.
Buy spiny lobsters immediately before cooking - the storage conditions in a home refrigerator are different from the supermarket’s refrigerator and will reduce the quality of the product. How to cook spiny lobsters - read on.
Cooking methods
The recipes for cooking spiny lobsters are varied. For eating, lobster meat is boiled, fried, stewed, baked in the oven and on the grill, added to salads and soups, marinated, serves as a filling for rolls. And dried and smoked, it can be offered as an exotic and gourmet appetizer to noble varieties of fragrant beer.
In the recipes for spiny lobsters, the main ingredients are dry wine, lemon, spices and seasonings. This must be taken into account.
In this article, we offer recipes for homemade lobsters - simple, tasty and not requiring a professional approach.
For cooking, freshly frozen, boiled-frozen lobsters or lobster meat are suitable.
Lobster fillet can be prepared on your own:
- defrost spiny lobsters, rinse in cold water and remove heads and legs;
- lobster carapace for softening, pour over boiling water, cut the rings and remove the abdomen and tail;
- remove the esophagus.
For cutting, use thin long scissors - they are easier to pick up chitin rings and not deform the meat.
Boiled lobsters
Try what boiled spiny lobsters are. Useful:
- lobsters - 4 pcs., or fillet - 500 g;
- juice of one lemon;
- 3-4 peas of black and allspice;
- 0.5 teaspoon ground pepper mixture;
- Bay leaf;
- salt, pepper to taste.
Cooking:
- pour spiny lobsters in such an amount of water that they are slightly covered;
- add salt, pepper and spices;
- bring everything to a boil and cook over medium heat for 5-7 minutes;
- for 10-15 minutes leave lobsters in the broth for soaking (if the fillet is prepared, then it is not necessary to keep it in the broth);
- drain, pour lemon juice and cover for 5 minutes.
Serve boiled lobster with pickled olives, olives and soy sauce.
Grilled lobsters
Before baking lobsters on the grill, they must be aged in the marinade. To marinate 1 kg of spiny lobsters, mix:
- 1.5-2 cups of olive or vegetable oil;
- juice of one lemon or half a glass of vinegar (apple or wine);
- 3-4 tablespoons of soy sauce;
- 1.5 teaspoons of spices for fish;
- a small bunch of basil;
- salt, pepper to taste.
For spiny lobsters, remove the heads and dip in the marinade for 1-1.5 hours.
Grill lobsters to a bright orange color.
Pour over the remaining marinade, serve on a platter with lemon or lime slices, garnish with basil sprigs.
Lobster soup
In restaurants, lobsters are put in a soup in its entirety, to give dishes a marine exoticism. But the use of such a soup in food requires disassembling the shells of lobsters by hand, which does not look aesthetically pleasing. Therefore, we offer a recipe for lobster meat soup.
Harvest products:
- lobster meat - 300 g;
- 2-3 small sea fish;
- one onion head;
- medium carrots;
- 1 can of canned olives;
- celery, parsley to taste;
- a few cloves of garlic;
- bay leaf, salt pepper to taste.
Fill a pot with a capacity of 2-2.5 liters with water, boil, salt and lower the fish. When the fish is cooked - remove it from the broth, add diced onions and carrots, cook for 10-15 minutes. Next, add the lobster meat and cook for no more than 5-7 minutes over medium heat, otherwise the lobster will become "rubber".
Turn off the stove and add boiled fish, chopped olives, finely chopped garlic and herbs to the contents of the pan. Leave under the lid for 15-20 minutes. The soup is ready.
If you want to preserve the marine note of the dish - use the whole lobster. Cook the soup in the same order. Add shrimps and sea bass when cooking - dip them into the broth along with spiny lobsters.
Pan Fried Lobsters
It is better to fry langoustines in a pan in shells in order to preserve the juiciness of meat.
To give them additional taste and aroma, marinate according to the above grill roasting recipe.
For 1 kg of spiny lobsters you will need:
- 1.5-2 cups of vegetable oil;
- thyme, rosemary to taste.
Add thyme and rosemary to the heated oil. When the contents of the pan begin to exude aromas of oils, remove the herbs and lay them out with one layer of spiny lobsters. Fry them for about 2 minutes on each side.
Put the prepared lobsters on a dish, serve with greens and lemon slices.
Lobsters in garlic cream sauce
Boil lobsters according to the recipe above. Or use boiled-frozen - rinse with cold water and dip in boiling water for 1-2 minutes.
Remove the paws, clear the carcasses of the shells, leave your heads to give the dish a marine touch.
Make garlic cream sauce. For 1 kg of spiny lobsters you will need:
- 0.5 liters of heavy cream;
- 2-3 tablespoons of wheat flour;
- a few feathers of green onions or shallots;
- a few cloves of garlic;
- some vegetable oil;
- greens to taste.
Chop green onions with garlic cloves in a blender. Heat the vegetable oil, pour and lightly fry the flour in it, pour in the cream. Stirring, bring to a boil, lower the mass of onions and garlic, pour finely crushed greens and cover for 5-10 minutes.
Spread lobsters on a dish, pour sauce and serve.
What are spiny lobsters without white wine? Serve it to all dishes chilled in thin tall glasses.