CookEat Recipe
Spiny Lobster Cutlets
Ten small breadcrumb-coated cutlets made from chopped cooked spiny lobster and a firm béchamel mixture, fried until golden.
Method
Steps
Step 1
Gather the ingredients: 1 whole spiny lobster, about 650 g, legally sourced and freshly prepared by a fishmonger; Half an onion; 1 small carrot, about 60 g; 4 parsley sprigs; 2 bay leaves; 2 tablespoons wine vinegar; Salt; Water to cover the lobster, about 2 litres; 70 g plain flour; 20 g butter; 200 ml milk; 1 tablespoon finely grated Parmesan, about 10 g; 1 egg yolk for the béchamel; 1 whole egg for coating; 100 g fine breadcrumbs, as needed for shaping and coating; Olive oil for frying, about 400 ml in a suitably small pan.
Step 2
Simmer the onion, carrot, parsley, bay leaves, vinegar and a little salt in enough water to cover the lobster for 10 minutes. Add the freshly prepared whole spiny lobster and cook gently until the thickest tail meat reaches 74°C, beginning to check after about 12–15 minutes for this size. Drain and cool just enough to handle. Extract all clean edible white meat from tail, legs and body, discarding gills, stomach, intestinal tract and green or brown digestive tissues. Chop the meat coarsely.
Step 3
Melt the butter in a saucepan. Work in the flour and stir over low heat for 1–2 minutes without browning. Add the milk gradually while stirring firmly to prevent lumps. Cook and stir for about 5–7 minutes until very thick and smooth. Remove from the heat, salt lightly and immediately mix in the Parmesan and egg yolk, then the chopped cooked lobster.
Step 4
Spread the mixture about 2 cm deep in a clean shallow dish. Cool promptly and refrigerate at 4°C or colder within 2 hours, then chill until firm throughout, about 2–3 hours. Keep it refrigerated while waiting to shape the cutlets.
Step 5
Divide into 10 equal portions. With a little of the breadcrumbs on your hands and work surface, shape each portion into a small flattened oval cutlet slightly thicker than half a finger, about 1 cm. Dip into the beaten whole egg and then coat again with breadcrumbs.
Step 6
Heat a shallow layer of olive oil to about 170–175°C in a small heavy frying pan. Fry in batches for about 3–4 minutes on each side, adjusting the heat to colour the crumbs without scorching and checking that each cutlet reaches 74°C in the centre. Drain briefly and serve hot, two cutlets per person. Keep unused mixture chilled and complete frying in the same preparation session.
Cooked it? Rate it.
Cooked 0 times