Lobster tails went on sale last week. $5 each! So, of course, I picked up a few. Then it was just a matter of figuring out what to do with them. I was already leaning toward making this clambake. And then I ended up with an accidental surplus of potatoes and corn. And I already had some extra fennel left over that needed to be used up. So this recipe was pretty much perfect to use up those ingredients.

To do it properly, I really should've gotten live mussels and clams and some jumbo shrimp to throw in the pot. But I was trying to do this as a relatively affordable meal, so instead of getting live shellfish, I got some frozen, pre-cooked, in-shell clams, plus a bag of frozen mixed seafood that included squid, mussel meat, and a few teeny, tiny shrimp. Obviously, this wasn't as nice as doing it properly, but it was still very good. Especially the lobster!

Clambake

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 small bulb fennel, chopped and fronds reserved
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2-3 sprigs fresh thyme (or 1/2 tsp. dried thyme)
• 1/2 tsp. Old Bay (optional)
• 1/8 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1 1/2 c. white wine
• 3 c. chicken stock
• 450g small potatoes, quartered
• 450g kielbasa, sliced
• 1-2 lobsters (or 4 small lobster tails)
• 2 ears of corn, husked and quartered
• 24 mussels, scrubbed and de-bearded
• 24 clams, scrubbed
• 12 large shrimp (preferably in-shell)
• lemon wedges (optional)

Directions

1. Melt the butter over medium heat.
2. Add the onion, fennel, and garlic and cook until softened (5-8 minutes).
3. Add the thyme, Old Bay (if using), and pepper and cook for another minute or two.
4. Add the wine and cook until reduced by half.
5. Add the chicken stock.
6. Add the potatoes, then layer the kielbasa on top.
7. Place the lobsters/lobster tails on top of everything, cover, and cook for 10 minutes.
8. Add the corn, mussels, clams, and shrimp.
9. Cover and cook for another 10-15 minutes.
10. Scoop out the solids and place in a serving dish.
11. Taste the broth and adjust seasonings as desired.
12. Pour broth into the serving dish with everything else.
13. Garnish with fennel fronds and serve with lemon wedges.

There are a great many recipes for lobster mac & cheese, none of which are part of the mac & cheese tradition I grew up with. And of late, with the Kidlet being allergic, I haven't had cause to seek them out. But in a recent grocery run symbol came home with some pre-cooked lobster claws and suggested this as a good thing to do with them.

I based this on a recipe from Spend with Pennies (with significant modifications), and the results were delicious; symbol and I both liked it. I made a half batch; the writeup here is for a full one, with a pound of pasta, but it scales down well.

Lobster Mac & Cheese

Adapted from Spend with Pennies

Ingredients

• topping
• 2 tbsp butter, melted
• ½ C breadcrumbs
• 2 tbsp grated parmesan
• 2 tbsp parsely, chopped
• pasta
• 1 lb dried store-bought pasta
• ~2 C cooked lobster meat, shredded
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 4+4 tbsp butter, divided
• 4 tbsp flour
• ½ tsp mustard powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp Old Bay seasoning
• ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2 C milk
• ~1 C grated parmesan
• ~2 C grated cheddar

Directions

1. Grease a 9x13" baking pan and preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Combine topping ingredients in a small bowl; buffer.
3. Cook pasta al dente; drain, rinse with cold water, and buffer.
4. Melt 4 tbsp butter in a small pot over medium heat.
5. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 1-2 minutes.
6. Add lobster, toss to coat, and cook until heated through. Remove lobster-garlic mix and buffer.
7. Melt the other 4 tbsp of butter in the same pot.
8. Add the flour and make a roux.
9. Add the mustard, salt, Old Bay, black pepper, and milk; stir until thickened.
10. Reduce heat to low and stir in the cheddar and parmesan until melted.
11. Stir in the lobster-garlic mix.
12. Put the pasta into the baking pan. Pour over the sauce and stir to mix.
13. Cover with the topping.
14. Bake at 400°F for 20 minutes, until topping is browned and edges are bubbling.

Lobster rolls are a divisive topic, primarily because there's two main schools of lobster rolling: cold, with mayo and celery, and hot, with butter. I like both, although I have few chances to eat either. This recipe for the hot ones comes from Cook's Country.

They recommend cooking and disassembling a whole, live lobster, or, failing that, using frozen raw lobster tails. I very much did not want to do the former, and didn't have access to the latter, so I used frozen, pre-cooked lobster bits. Interestingly, this doesn't seem to be one of the formats CC tested -- they tried whole lobster, frozen tails, tinned cooked lobster, and fresh pre-shelled lobster bits. The results were definitely not as good as fresh lobster, but a great deal faster and easier.

Similarly, they call for New England-style "split-top" buns, which are not readily available here. Normal hot dog buns do fine, though, as do small kaiser rolls or pretty much any other slightly crusty bun; you'll lose out on some of the crispness of the outside, though.

The recipe as recorded here is the recipe as I made it, but with quantities appropriate for four people, in keeping with the original; when I made it I was cooking for myself and halved everything. Compared to the original, apart from the change of lobster format, I also increased the proportion of chives and shallots slightly.

I suspect, but have not yet tested, that adding a few minced garlic cloves and sauteeing those and the shallots in the butter for a bit before adding the lobster would make things even better.

Hot Buttered Lobster Rolls

Cook's Country

Ingredients

• ~900g frozen cooked lobster meat, thawed
• 30mL softened unsalted butter
• 90mL unsalted butter, cubed
• 4 split-top hot dog buns (or alternative bunbreads)
• 2 shallots, minced
• 30mL minced fresh chives

Directions

1. Use softened butter to butter the outsides of the buns. Toast in a skillet over medium heat. Remove to a plate and set aside.
2. Melt the remaining butter in the skillet over medium-low heat.
3. Add the lobster, shallot, and 1mL salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the lobster is heated through and the shallot softens, ~2 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and stir in chives.
5. Divide filling between buns; drizzle additional butter from the skillet over filling, if desired.