Why it works: Lobster and cream match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and 1,050 recipes mention both. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓
The recipe
Ingredients
Contains: egg, milk, wheat, shellfish (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Prepare the lobster
Divide the lobsters in half.
Remove the coral and creamy green fat.
Set the lobster halves aside.
Make the sauce
In a chafing dish, melt 2 ounces of butter until creamy.
Whisk in ⅓ cup of Madeira or sherry.
Simmer the sauce until reduced by half.
Beat together the egg yolks and rich cream.
Season the mixture with salt and cayenne pepper.
Divide 3 ounces of butter into small balls.
Dredge the butter balls in flour.
Add the butter balls to the sauce one by one, whisking thoroughly.
Reduce the coral and tomalley to a paste.
Stir the paste into the sauce.
Simmer until the sauce is creamy.
Add the lobster to the sauce, and mix.
Serve
Serve.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Lobster + creamtop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together1,050 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Butter + creamtop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together41,494 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Lobster + saucetop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together1,095 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Butter + sherrytop 6% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together3,505 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
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Cream + saucetop 6% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together4,786 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Lobsters
- Provides the main protein and the sweet meat that the sauce coats.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a silky mouthfeel to the sauce as it emulsifies.
- Madeira or sherry
- Adds acidity and depth of flavour as it reduces into the sauce.
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the cream-based sauce when gently heated, giving it body.
- Rich cream
- Gives the sauce its smooth, rich texture and mild sweetness.
The step that matters
Add the egg and cream mixture gently. Egg yolks thicken when heated, but if the sauce is too hot when they are added they can scramble and turn grainy. Keep the heat low and whisk constantly so the sauce stays smooth and creamy.
“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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