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Lobster Cutlets

Lobster cutlets are breaded lobster meat patties fried in lard.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Butter and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓

Lobster Cutlets

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the lobster

  1. Cook the lobsters in water until done.

  2. Chop the lobster meat finely.

  3. Season the chopped lobster meat with salt and spices.

Make the mixture

  1. Melt the butter in a small pan and add the flour to the melted butter.

  2. Stir in the chopped lobster and stock.

  3. Beat the eggs.

  4. Mix the beaten eggs into the lobster mixture, reserving one egg for dipping.

  5. Spread the mixture in a shallow pan and let it cool.

  6. Cut the cooled mixture into long slices.

Coat and fry

  1. Dip each slice in the reserved egg.

  2. Coat each slice with rolled crackers.

  3. Fry the cutlets in hot lard until golden brown.

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.

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

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

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

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

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

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  4. Lobster + buttertop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,609 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).

  5. Lobster + flourtop 22% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,034 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

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

Lobsters
Provide the main meat that gives the cutlets their flavour and body.
Eggs
Bind the chopped lobster mixture so it holds its shape when sliced and fried.
Flour
Thickens the butter and stock mixture so the lobster binds together.
Butter
Adds richness and fat that carries flavour and helps the crust brown.
Stock
Adds moisture and lobster flavour to the mixture.

The step that matters

Let the mixture cool fully before slicing. A warm mixture is soft and loose, so slices fall apart. Cooling lets the egg and flour set the mixture firmly enough to hold its shape for dipping and frying.

“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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