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 ↓
Deviled Lobster
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the lobster
Remove the meat from the boiled lobster and mince it finely.
Reserve the coral and season the lobster meat with mustard, cayenne pepper, and pungent sauce.
Stir the mixture until well combined.
Make the dressing
Prepare the dressing before heating the lobster meat.
Rub the coral smooth, adding vinegar until it is thin enough to pour easily.
Heat and finish
Place the mixture in a porcelain saucepan with just enough hot water to prevent burning.
Bring the mixture to a boil once before adding the coral and vinegar.
Stir the coral mixture into the lobster meat.
Stir in a heaping tablespoon of butter, then remove from heat once it boils again.
Avoid overcooking to prevent toughening the meat.
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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Mustard + vinegartop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Mustard + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,430 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Mustard + saucetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,120 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Meat + mustardtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together855 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Lobster meat
- Forms the main body of the dish and provides its delicate, savoury flavour.
- Coral
- Adds richness and a smooth, colourful texture when rubbed and thinned into the mixture.
- Vinegar
- Thins the coral to a pourable consistency and adds a sharp, acidic bite.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and a silkier mouthfeel to the finished mixture.
- Mustard
- Adds pungent, sharp flavour that complements the sweetness of the lobster.
- Cayenne pepper
- Adds heat and a spicy warmth that sharpens the lobster's flavour.
The step that matters
Avoid overcooking the lobster meat. Lobster proteins tighten and toughen when heated too long or too hot, so the mixture should be heated gently and removed from heat as soon as it is hot again.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (meat, lobster, pepper, sauce, vinegar, butter):
- Mustardthe original
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Shallotfits less well
- Onionfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against meat, lobster, pepper, sauce, vinegar, butter. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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