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Devilled Lobster

A lobster tail dish topped with a spicy chutney mixture and croutons.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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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 ↓

Devilled Lobster

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the lobster

  1. Cut the lobster tail into 7 equal slices.

  2. Mix chutney, gherkins, salt, cayenne, and Worcestershire sauce in a bowl.

  3. Cover each lobster slice with the mixture.

Cook and serve

  1. Heat butter in a frying pan and warm the lobster pieces thoroughly.

  2. Ensure the croutons are hot and crisp, then place one lobster piece on each.

  3. If any chutney mixture remains, add a little on top of each lobster piece.

  4. Serve very hot.

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. Lobster + saucetop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,095 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  2. Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,232 recipes

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

  3. Sauce + buttertop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together15,338 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  4. Bread + peppertop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together20,964 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

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

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

Sauce and butter 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 tail
Forms the main protein, providing the meaty filling that sits on each crouton.
Butter
Warms the lobster in a frying pan and adds richness to the dish.
Chutney
Adds sweetness and fruity acidity that balances the rich lobster.
Pickled gherkins
Contribute sharp acidity and a crisp bite to the topping.
Worcestershire sauce
Adds savoury, tangy depth that seasons the lobster mixture.
Fried bread croutons
Provide a crisp, absorbent base that holds the lobster topping.

The step that matters

Warm the lobster thoroughly in butter. Lobster turns rubbery when overcooked, so it should be warmed gently just until heated through. Keeping the croutons hot and crisp matters too, because soggy bread softens under the topping.

“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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