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Lobster Chops

Diced lobster mixed with butter, flour, cream, eggs, and spices, formed into chops, breaded and fried.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Towanda, Pa. Christ church. Young ladies society. [from old catalog] · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Butter and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Lobster Chops

Ingredients

Directions

Make the lobster mixture

  1. Cut half a pound of boiled lobster flesh into small dice.

  2. Put two ounces of butter in a stewpan and, when it bubbles, sprinkle in one tablespoon of flour.

  3. Cook the mixture, then pour in a cup of boiling cream and the lobster dice.

  4. Stir until scalding hot, then take it from the fire.

  5. When slightly cooled, stir in the beaten yolks of three eggs, a little cayenne pepper, and salt.

  6. Return to the fire and stir long enough to set the eggs.

  7. Butter a platter and spread the lobster mixture half an inch deep.

  8. When cold, form the mixture into the shape of chops, pointed at one end.

Coat and fry

  1. Bread, crumb, egg, and crumb the chops again.

  2. Fry the chops in boiling lard.

  3. Stick a claw into the end of each lobster chop after it is cooked.

Plate and serve

  1. Place the chops in a circle overlapping each other on a napkin.

  2. Decorate the dish by putting the tail of lobster in the centre, and its head with the long horns on the tail.

  3. Around the outside of the circle of chops, arrange the legs, cut an inch each side of the middle joints, and form two equal sides of a triangle.

Make the sauce

  1. Take a tablespoonful of butter and a tablespoonful of flour, mix in a saucepan over the fire.

  2. Add either milk or water until a pint has been used.

  3. Season with salt and pepper.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

692Calories
20 gProtein
24 gFat
98 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Cream1 tbsp (15ml) heavy51
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By Towanda, Pa. Christ church. Young ladies society. [from old catalog]. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,516 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  2. Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together124,287 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  3. Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together106,462 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  4. Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together118,967 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  5. Flour + peppertop 19% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together50,459 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Lobster (in the method)
Provides the main flavor and the meaty body of the chops.
Eggs
Yolks bind the mixture and set when heated, holding the chops together.
Cream
Adds richness and moisture, giving the mixture a soft, smooth texture.
Flour
Thickens the butter-based base so the mixture holds its shape.
Butter
Adds fat and flavor to the base and coats the platter.

The step that matters

Setting the eggs over the fire. The yolks must be stirred over gentle heat just long enough to thicken. Overheating can curdle them, while too little heat leaves the mixture too loose to shape into chops.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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