What are lobsters and how to cook them

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

What are spiny lobsters? Spiny lobsters are among those edible inhabitants of the deep sea, which are called seafood. What are spiny lobsters - in their structure they resemble lobsters, only without large front claws, and shrimp, only much larger. The average spiny lobster has a length of 30-40 cm, weight - from 1 to 1.5 kilograms.

How to cook lobsters, we will tell in this article.

Benefits and harms

Lobster meat is low-calorie (100 grams of the product contains 90-100 kilocalories), consists of proteins (about 50%), fats, a small amount of ash and water. The chemical composition is rich in amino acids (folic and pantothenic), phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, iodine, calcium, zinc, iron, sodium and vitamins A, B, C, D, E, PP. These minerals and trace elements normalize the cardiovascular and nervous systems of the human body, strengthen bones and teeth, and support the functioning of the heart muscle.

Like everyone elseseafood, lobster meat can cause allergies. Otherwise, if you do not overeat, the use of lobsters can only have a beneficial effect on human he alth.

How to choose the right lobsters

The belly and tail are used to cook lobsters for food. But the most delicious part of the lobster is the tail, called the "neck" in restaurant menus. It is the tails of lobsters that are considered a delicacy product and a delicacy for gourmets. Lobster meat is very tender and tasty, white or pale pink in color.

The shelf life for chilled lobsters is only a few hours. Therefore, lobsters are usually sold frozen.

When buying lobsters, pay attention to the tails - they should be bent inward, and this is the most important sign of the freshness of this seafood. Freshly frozen spiny lobsters have rich colored shells and anthracite, shiny eyes. Whiskers can be broken and damaged by freezing.

Buy lobster immediately before cooking - storage conditions in a home refrigerator are different from a supermarket refrigerator and will reduce the quality of the product. How to cook lobsters - read on.

Cooking Methods

Crayfish recipes are varied. For eating, lobster meat is boiled, fried, stewed, baked in the oven and on the grill, added to salads and soups, marinated, and serves as a filling for rolls. And in dried and smoked form, it can be offered as an exoticand delicacy snacks for noble varieties of fragrant beer.

In recipes for lobsters, the main components are dry wine, lemon, spices and seasonings. This needs to be considered.

In this article we offer homemade lobster recipes - simple, tasty and do not require a professional approach.

Fresh-frozen, boiled-frozen lobsters or lobster meat are suitable for cooking.

You can cook your own lobster fillets:

• thaw lobsters, rinse in cold water and remove heads and legs;
• shell lobsters to soften, pour boiling water over, cut the rings and remove the abdomen and tail;
• remove the esophagus.

Use thin long scissors for cutting - it is easier to pick up the chitin rings and not deform the meat.

Cooked lobsters

Try what lobsters are boiled with spices. Useful:

• lobsters - 4 pieces, or fillets - 500 g;
• juice of one lemon;
• 3-4 peas of black and allspice;
• 0, 5 teaspoon ground pepper mixture;
• bay leaf;
• s alt, pepper to taste.

Cooking:

• fill the lobsters with enough water to cover slightly;
• add s alt, pepper and spices;
• bring everything to a boil and cook over medium heat for 5-7 minutes;
• leave the lobsters in the broth for soaking for 10-15 minutes (if the fillet is being cooked, then it is not necessary to keep it in the broth);
• drain, pour juicelemon and cover for 5 minutes.

Serve boiled lobsters with pickled olives, black olives and soy sauce.

Grilled lobsters

Before grilling the lobsters on the grill, they must be kept in the marinade. To marinate 1 kg lobster mix:

• 1, 5-2 cups olive or vegetable oil;
• juice of one lemon or half a glass of vinegar (apple or wine);
• 3-4 tablespoons of soy sauce;
• 1, 5 teaspoons fish spice;
• a small bunch of basil;
• s alt, pepper to taste.

Remove the heads of the lobsters and dip in the marinade for 1-1.5 hours.

Grill lobster until bright orange.

Pour over the remaining marinade, serve on a platter with lemon or lime wedges, garnish with basil sprigs.

Crawfish soup

In restaurants, lobsters are put into the soup as a whole, to give dishes of marine exoticism. But eating such a soup requires disassembling the lobster shells with your hands, which does not look aesthetically pleasing. Therefore, we offer a recipe for lobster meat soup.

Prepare food:

• lobster meat - 300 g;
• 2-3 small marine fish;
• one head of onion;
• medium carrot;
• 1 tin canned olives;
• celery, parsley to taste;
• a few garlic cloves;
• bay leaf, s alt pepper to taste.

Pan with a capacity of 2-2, 5 litersfill with water, boil, s alt and lower the fish. When the fish is cooked, take it out of the broth, add the diced onions and carrots, cook for 10-15 minutes. Next, add the lobster meat and cook for no more than 5-7 minutes over medium heat, otherwise the lobsters will become "rubber".

Turn off the stove and add boiled fish, sliced olives, finely chopped garlic and herbs to the contents of the pan. Leave covered for 15-20 minutes. The soup is ready.

If you want to keep the marine touch of the dish - use the whole lobsters. Soup cook in the same order. Add shrimp and sea bass when cooking - dip them into the broth along with the lobsters.

Pan fried lobsters

It is better to fry langoustines in shells in a pan to keep the juiciness of the meat.

For extra flavor and aroma, marinate them using the above grilled recipe.

For 1 kg of lobsters you will need:

• 1, 5-2 cups vegetable oil;
• thyme, rosemary to taste.

Add thyme and rosemary to heated oil. When the contents of the pan begin to exude aromas of oils, remove the herbs and lay out in a single layer of lobsters. Fry them for about 2 minutes on each side.

Put the finished lobsters on a dish, serve with herbs and lemon slices.

Crawfish in garlic cream sauce

Boil the lobster according to the recipe above. Or use boiled-frozen - rinse with cold water and dip in boiling water for 1-2 minutes.

Remove the legs, clean the carcasses from the shells, leave the heads to give the dish a marine touch.

Make garlic cream sauce. For 1 kg of lobsters you will need:

• 0.5 liters of heavy cream;
• 2-3 tablespoons of wheat flour;
• a few green onions or shallots;
• a few garlic cloves;
• a little cooking oil;
• greens to taste.

Green onion with garlic cloves chop in a blender. Heat the vegetable oil, add and lightly fry the flour in it, pour in the cream. While stirring, bring to a boil, lower the onion and garlic mass, add finely chopped greens and cover for 5-10 minutes.

Put the lobsters on a dish, pour over the sauce and serve.

What are spiny lobsters without white wine? Serve it chilled in thin tall glasses with all dishes.