Why it works: Lobster and sauce are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,095 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Broiled Live Lobster
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the lobster
Place the live lobster belly down on a table or meat block.
Spread the tail straight out.
Using a sharp knife, cut from the head down the back to the end of the tail, dividing it in half.
Detach and crack the claws from each half.
Broil and serve
Place the lobster shell side down on a grilling iron over a strong open fire.
Broil until done.
Serve with drawn butter, Maitre d' Hote sauce, Tartar sauce, or lobster butter, garnished with baby cress.
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.
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.
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Lobster + saucetop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,095 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Butter + saucetop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together15,338 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Lobster + buttertop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,609 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).
Butter and sauce barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 15,338 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
- Its flesh firms and turns opaque as it cooks, forming the main body of the dish.
- Drawn butter
- Adds richness and fat that complements the sweet lobster meat.
- Lobster butter
- Adds concentrated lobster flavour and extra richness to the meat.
The step that matters
Broil until done. Lobster proteins tighten as they heat, and overcooking squeezes out moisture, leaving the meat dry and rubbery. Stopping once the flesh turns opaque and firm keeps it tender and juicy.
“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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