Smoked, yes smoked, Lobster!
The end of summer is always bittersweet, isn’t it? The days grow shorter, cicadas buzz louder than ever, and Labor Day Weekend signals the last big hoorah of the season.
Here in Harbor Country, we have a unique tradition: Lobster Fest. It’s a much-anticipated event, hyped for weeks by the local grocery store who throws the event. On that Saturday morning, locals rise at the crack of dawn to stand in line and buy lobsters. While you can opt for the precooked variety (I always grab a couple for lobster tails, ravioli, or risotto), we like to bring home a fresh batch. I’m talking still-squirming-in-the-bag fresh, ready to be the centerpiece of a delicious farewell to summer.
On a side note: From now on, I will always plunge my lobsters into boiling water. Contrary to popular belief, they don’t “scream”—it’s just steam escaping from their shells. Last year, I tried dispatching them with a knife to the brain stem, like I’ve seen my cats do to mice. Oh no, never again! There was way too much residual activity—think chicken with its head cut off. So, from this day forward, I am now, and forevermore, a plunger!
Now, back to the lobster. Smoked lobster is not only amazing—it’s EASY. Just three simple steps: plunge, cut in half, and smoke. There’s a little more to it, but I’ll spare you the repetition—the details are in the recipe below. As the kids say, TL;DR.
One thing you’ll notice about my blog is that I focus on MEALS, not just recipes. I’ve been perfecting meals over two millennia (see what I did there?), and I’d like to think I’ve gotten pretty good at it! So, for Lobster Fest 2024, here’s what we did:
- Smoked Lobster with Garlic Butter
- Sweet Corn and Chiles
- Sauteed Fresh Green Beans
- And, of course, a nice crisp Chardonnay!
Click on the links above for the other recipes or go to Lobster Fest in my index for all of them, including the varieties of clarified butter for the lobster.
Happy Eating!!
~Chelle
Smoked, yes smoked, Lobster!
Ingredients
- 2-4 whole lobsters uncooked
- 1½ cup butter, unsalted
- 2 cloves garlic
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to boiling, with salt added. Be prepared to do an ice bath for the lobsters in a very large pan or bowl.
- Immerse lobsters for 3 minutes. Remove and immerse just the claws for 2 more minutes. The lobster tails have curled at this time and you can use them to "hang" the claws in the water!
- Remove the lobsters from the water and immerse in the ice bath until they are cool enough to handle.
- Next, with very sharp kitchen shears and/or a chef's knife, cut the lobsters in half, lengthwise. Remove all the icky green stuff and any eggs using lots of paper towels!At this step, you can continue on or put lobsters, loosely covered with plastic wrap back in the refrigerator until you are ready to smoke.
- Meanwhile, let's prepare the garlic butter sauce. Finely mince two cloves of garlic. Cut butter into smaller pieces and gently melt in a small saucepan. Add the minced garlic when the butter is completely melted, letting it simmer for about a minute. Remove from burner and let cool. Skim the white, frothy part off and discard. Let completely cool and reheat – this will give the sauce more flavor!
- When ready, prepare your smoker as you do for your smoker. Set temperature to 250℉. Smoke until an internal temperature of 140℉ is reached. Serve immediately with the garlic butter sauce, plain clarified butter, or anything else you'd like!