No need for oily drawn butter when you could have lobster cooked in a warm vanilla scented butter bath! I created this dish for a client, who wanted lobster with butter, but not the messy traditional drawn butter. I used a technique created by Chef Thomas Keller, but put a twist on the recipe by incorporating vanilla flavor into the butter sauce. Vanilla and lobster go great together! The butter sauce creates a stable environment for the lobster to cook without the milk solids separating from the fat. I skewered the lobster meat before cooking it so the lobster didn’t curl up. But you can serve this without skewering the lobster, if you don’t mind it curling. I served the lobster tail over fresh summer corn lemon risotto and simple sautéed asparagus spears. The client and their guests loved it and they were surprised that vanilla paired so well with the lobster.
- 6 lobster tails, 5 ounces each
- 1 stick butter, cut into 8 tbs.
- 1/2 vanilla bean
- white pepper
- 6 wooden skewers
- 2 large zip lock bags
- 1 pair of tongs
- Bring a large stock pot filled with water to a light simmer
- Remove the lobster meat from it shells in one piece
- *Cut a skewer in half and slide both halves into the center of the lobster tail meat and along the length
- Continue this process until all 6 lobster tails are skewered
- Place 3 skewered lobster tails in each zip lock bag
- Split half a vanilla bean into 2 long lengths and sit aside
- Heat 2 tbs. water in a small pot over medium heat
- Bring the water to a boil and reduce to 1 tbs.
- Reduce the heat to low and begin whisking in the butter, a tablespoon at a time until each is melted into the sauce
- Once all the butter has been whisked into the sauce, turn off the heat
- Add the split vanilla beans and whisk into the sauce to incorporate the vanilla seeds
- Pour half the vanilla butter sauce into each zip lock bag and add the vanilla bean halves
- Remove as much air as possible from the bags, and seal
- Using a pair of tongs, drop the bags of lobster tails into the simmering water
- Simmer the bags for no more than 5 minutes
- Remove the bags using the tongs
- Carefully open the bags
- Remove the skewers from the lobster tail, if skewered
- Slice the lobster tail into 1 inch pieces and serve the lobster tail with side dishes
- *The skewers keep the lobster tails from curling during the cooking process. You may omit these steps if you don't mind the lobster curling. It doesn't affect the flavor.
