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Broiled Lobster, Chili Sauce
Cut the claws from three one-pound live lobsters, crack them with a cleaver, place in a small roasting tin and set to bake in the oven for twenty minutes. Split the bodies of the three lobsters in even halves, lengthwise, remove the gravel from the heads, then arrange on a double broiler. Season with a teaspoon salt and half tablespoon paprika, evenly spread two tablespoons oil over the six bodies and broil on the shell side for ten minutes, then set in the oven for ten minutes, cut parts upward. Remove, dress the bodies and claws on a large dish, decorate with six quarters lemon and parsley greens and serve with a chili sauce separately.
A straightforward broiled lobster, but the original assumes a coal range, a hinged wire broiler and a cook who already knows how to dispatch a lobster. A few things need spelling out.
- Killing the lobsterThe recipe simply says to cut and split live lobsters. The usual current practice is to chill the lobster in the freezer for 15-20 minutes to sedate it, then drive the point of a heavy knife straight down through the cross-mark behind the eyes before splitting lengthwise. Work quickly and split immediately.
- "Double broiler"Not a double boiler. This is a hinged wire grill-basket that clamps the halves flat so they can be turned over the coals in one motion. A sheet pan and a modern overhead broiler do the same job; keep the shell side toward the heat first, as instructed.
- Oven temperatureNo number is given; ovens of the period were commonly judged by feel rather than by a dial. Bake the claws and finish the bodies at about 425F. The claws want that heat for the full twenty minutes; the split bodies are only finishing.
- "Remove the gravel from the heads"The stomach sac sitting just behind the eyes, gritty with shell fragments and shreds of the last meal. Lift it out with the point of a knife. The green tomalley and any coral roe stay in and are the best part.
- Watch the tail, not the clockTen minutes shell-side plus ten in the oven is generous for a one-pound lobster and will tighten the tail meat. Twelve to fifteen minutes total is closer to right; the meat should be opaque and just firm, pulling cleanly from the shell.
- Cracking the claws firstCracking before cooking lets heat in and steam out, and spares the diner the work at table.
- The chili sauceIn a book of this vintage chili sauce means the American tomato condiment - tomatoes, onion, sweet and hot peppers, vinegar, sugar and spice, cooked down to a loose relish. It is closer to a chunky ketchup than to any modern hot sauce.
- YieldSix half-lobsters. That is six modest portions as a first course, or three generous ones as a main with bread and butter.
The International Cook Book is generally attributed to Alexander Filippini, long associated with Delmonico's in New York, and this recipe carries the marks of that kitchen: three lobsters handled at once, everything dressed on a single large platter, the sauce sent separately in a boat. Broiled lobster made demands that a commercial kitchen was better placed to meet - live shellfish delivered daily and a fierce, steady fire. The chili sauce alongside is the American note in a book that ranges across national kitchens: a spiced tomato condiment that spread through home canning and commercial bottling in the later nineteenth century, and which by 1900 sat on the table much as ketchup does now. Paprika and oil rather than butter give the seasoning a Continental turn, and the lemon quarters and parsley are the standard fish-course garnish of the period, applied here without variation.