Lobster with Curry Sauce-Bon Appetit
Submitted by 123fut
Lobster with curry sauce from Bon Appetit: poached lobster medallions served over a silky reduction of tomato, Calvados, white wine, and warm curry spices. A dinner-party centerpiece with French technique.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
15 minCOOK
1 hrsREADY
1 hrsBon Appetit’s take on lobster pairs sweet, just-poached tail medallions with a curry-spiked pan sauce built from the shells themselves. Nothing gets wasted: after a brief boil, the lobster is pulled from its shell, and those shells go straight into the sauce along with every drop of reserved juice.
The sauce starts with butter, onion, curry powder, and garlic, then gets layered with tomato paste, a splash of Calvados (apple brandy), white wine, and the lobster cooking liquid. It simmers down for about 45 minutes until concentrated and glossy, then finishes with a beurre manie (flour whisked into butter) to thicken without lumps.
Serving is simple: warm the medallions and claw meat in butter for a single minute so they stay tender, then spoon sauce onto each plate and crown it with lobster.
Chef Tips
- Save every drop of juice that escapes when you crack the shells. That liquid is where the flavor lives, and the sauce depends on it.
- Bloom the curry powder in butter with the onions before adding liquid. Raw curry tastes dusty; toasted curry tastes warm and round.
- Don’t skip straining the sauce. The shells and aromatics do their job during the simmer, but you want a smooth, glossy finish on the plate.
- Reheat the lobster meat for one minute only. Any longer and it turns rubbery, undoing all that careful cooking at the start.
Variations
Ingredients
Directions
Bring large pot of water to boil.
Add lobsters; cover and boil 9 minutes.
Using tongs, transfer lobsters to large bowl of cole water.
Reserve 4 cups cooking liquid.
Drain lobsters. Working over bowl to collect juices, remove claws and tails.
Cut tail meat through shells into ½ inch wide medallions.
Remove shells. Crack claws; carefully remove meat.
Reserve large pieces, reserving all juices and shells.
Melt 1 tablespoon butter in heavy large saucepan over medium heat.
Add onion, curry and garlic, sauté 2 minutes.
Stir in tomato juices.
Boil mixture 2 minutes.
Stir in tomato paste, then Calvados and reserved shells and juices.
Boil mixture 2 minutes. Add reserved 4 cups lobster cooking liquid, wine, thyme, parsley and bay leaf; bring to boil.
Reduce heat; simmer until sauce is reduced to 1 ⅔ cups, about 45 minutes.
Strain into medium skillet, discarding solids.
Mix 2 tablespoons butter and flour in small bowl.
Bring sauce to simmer.
Whisk in butter mixture; boil 2 minutes, whisking constantly.
Season with salt and pepper.
Melt 1 tablespoon butter in another heavy medium skillet over Add lobster medallions and claw meat. Sauté just until heated through, about 1 minute. Divide sauce among 4 plates. Arrange medallions and claw meat atop sauce and serve.
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