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
Split the lobsters in half and remove the stony pouch and intestines.
Glaze the lobsters with sweet oil and season with salt and pepper.
Broil and serve
Broil the lobsters for 7 minutes on each side.
Place them on a dish and moisten with maitre d'hotel sauce.
Serve immediately.
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.
-
Lobster + saucetop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,095 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Pepper + saucetop 27% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together15,303 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Lobster + peppertop 27% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,247 recipes
Shared aroma: octanal (fat, soap).
Pepper and sauce barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 15,303 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
- Main protein; the flesh firms and turns opaque as it cooks.
- Sweet oil
- Carries heat to the shell surface and helps the flesh brown lightly under the broiler.
- Maitre d'hotel sauce
- Adds moisture and a rich, savoury flavour to the cooked flesh.
The step that matters
Broil the lobsters for 7 minutes on each side. Lobster meat is delicate, and proteins tighten as they cook. Too much heat or time makes the flesh dry and rubbery, while stopping at the right point 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.
You might also like
Lobster Sauce174 recipes
Lobster Croquettes99 recipes
Lobster Balls7 recipes
Tomato Soup526 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.