Creamed Lobster
2 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons flour I cup milk I teaspoon salt I teaspoon pepper 2 cups boiled or canned lobster Make a white sauce with the fat, flour and milk. Add lobster cut into small pieces and salt and pepper. Some cooks add a teaspoon of curry-powder. Sometimes this preparation is placed in greased or oiled scallop shells, sprinkled with fine seasoned bread or cracker-crums and browned in the oven.
A plain medium white sauce carrying cooked lobster meat, either served as is or gratinated in shells. The whole dish takes about fifteen minutes.
- Seasoning quantitiesA full teaspoon each of salt and pepper for one cup of sauce is far more than the dish wants; a teaspoon of pepper would overwhelm the lobster entirely. Season the sauce to taste, starting with about a half teaspoon of salt and a few grinds of pepper.
- The hinge: do not overcook the lobsterThe lobster is already cooked. Fold it in off the heat or over the barest heat and warm it through for a minute or two. Held at a simmer it turns fibrous and squeaky, and canned meat goes to threads.
- Sauce consistencyTwo tablespoons each of butter and flour to one cup of milk gives a medium sauce that will just coat the lobster. Cook the roux a minute before adding milk so it does not taste pasty, and add the milk warm to avoid lumps.
- How much lobsterTwo cups of picked meat is roughly 9 to 12 oz, about what two 1 1/4 lb lobsters yield; if using canned, buy by drained weight rather than by number of cans. Claw and knuckle meat holds together better than tail in a sauce.
- Browning in the ovenIf you fill shells or ramekins and crumb the tops, brown them at 425F for 8 to 10 minutes, or under the broiler for 2 to 3 minutes. Dot the crumbs with butter first or they scorch dry rather than gilding.
- Scallop shellsThe recipe's shells may be natural ones or the china and metal imitations sold for the purpose; ovenproof serving shells, small gratin dishes or 6 oz ramekins all do the same work. Set them on a sheet pan so they do not tip.
- Curry powderThe optional teaspoon of curry powder is worth using, but bloom it in the melted butter with the flour rather than stirring it in raw at the end, which leaves a chalky edge.
- YieldServes three as a light main course, four as a first course, or six if spooned onto toast points or into small shells.