Shucks Maine Lobster

Butter Poached Maine Lobster

Thomas Keller, executive chef of world renowned restaurants, French Laundry and Per Se developed a fantastic lobster preparation called “Butter Poaching.” (Do a web search on butter poached lobster) This is typically only done at very high end restaurants with staffing resources to perform the delicate prep work necessary to blanch lobster and remove the meat from the shell.

The great thing about using Shucks raw lobster meat is that it makes butter poaching easy for anyone to make. It will produce the most delicate, tender lobster you’ve ever had.

* Thaw Lobster Meat overnight in the refrigerator.
* Allow meat to come to room temperature, cut into chunks or leave whole.
* In a saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons of water until boiling and whisk in one or two chunks of butter to form an emulsion (called Beurre Monté). Reduce heat to low and continue to whisk in chunks of butter, one chunk at a time, until the Beurre Monté is about 1-inch high.
* Use an instant-read thermometer to maintain the temperature of the Beurre Monté between 160F and 190F during cooking.
* Add lobster pieces to Beurre Monté (in several batches if necessary), and cook 2-3 minutes. Note: Cooking time may be longer if the temperature of the sauce drops as a result of adding _ lb or more of cold lobster. If lobster is not fully covered, use a spoon to gently turn over halfway through cooking.
* Lobster is done when it is warm all the way through. It should be soft, not chewy.
* Serve on a warm roll or in a salad or straight up!

The remaining sauce can be used in a variety of other dishes or saved as “lobster butter.”

Culinary or Technical Questions? Please feel free to contact Charlie Langston at 207-737-4800 or 207-504-4959 or by email