Long has the mystique and deliciousness of lobsters held sway over the two legged land dwellers. We love these bugs that crawl in droves across the cold Atlantic Ocean floor devouring detritus and carcasses of mightier and more noble sea creatures. While I love eating the local Californian Spiny Lobster, you can't beat the claw meat that comes from Maine.
These lovelies are called the American lobster, Homarus Americanus, northern lobster, and of course, more commonly, the Maine lobster. These tasty treats are found all along the Atlantic coast from Labrador(that's near Newfoundland) all the way down to New Jersey, where those claws come in good use to fist bump. I procured this dynamic duo at the apparently newly remodeled Point Loma Seafoods.
Fresh vibrant seafood beckons from shiny new glass cases. The floor has been re-tiled and and an overall cleanliness and newness emanates from all around, blanketing you in the comforting arms of delectable deep sea delights. I was helped by a friendly gent named Terry and he quickly fished out the clawed bounty from the cold water tank.
Super hot morning, it was only a little after 9 am and the tanks were sweating. I took the days catch back to the abattoir (hehe) and quickly tossed the lobsters in the freezer to calm them down a bit so they wouldn't be so snappy, and prepared the boiling water that would envelope and caress these beauties with flavor and warmth.
The boil consists of a gallon of water, red pepper flakes, paprika ( I used sweet Spanish paprika), lemons, parsley, thyme, salt( salty like the ocean), bay leaves, and some whole Tellicherry peppercorns. The aroma coming off this was intense and mouthwatering. After bringing to a boil then back down to simmering, it was time to humanely kill the lobsters. The easy way to do this is to take a very sharp knife and put the point at the base of the carapace (main part of shell) and drive it in fast then slice straight down through the head cleaving it in twain( cut in half). This severs all the important thinking/feeling bits, but leaves the dying/twitching parts in complete working order. Don't fret my pets, it shouldn't hurt and all the electro impulses making it move are pain free and normal and should stop( sometimes not) when you plunge them into the briny boiling deep.
This is what rises from the pot about 10 minutes later( tails first in the water for 3 minutes then drop in claws and go for another 7). Beautiful deep red shells filled with tender jiggly lobster meat!
There are many ways to get the delicate flesh from the dauntingly pointy and sharp shell, but the easiest for me is making some cracks and cuts with a knife then just breaking them open Hulk status.
Bite sizes pieces of lobster and chopped Tarragon and Chives.
The beginnings of aioli are humble and quiet, until you add the mighty catalyst of Canola oil and transform them into the suave and sophisticated cousin of mayo. This is Dijon, hot sauce, egg yolks, salt, and lemon champagne vinegar.
The luscious, creamy, tangy substance after the addition of some Canola oil and about 3 minutes of food processor action.
A couple of dollops of aioli and now this rich flavorful meat is a fresh healthy salad. Yeah right. Lobster is about decadence people. It's there to make you feel powerful and rich. It's the sports car you buy in your mid life crisis, but with better mileage and cooler hood ornaments. How else can you feel like you battled a sea beast like Perseus did with the Kracken plus get the satisfaction of dining on it after! Yeah suck it Perseus you can't eat stone Kracken.
These are by far some of the best buns I have ever had and they are the perfect conveyance for lobster to get to your mouth hole. If you have never been to Con Pane I suggest you stop reading this and head straight there. Not only do they bring the smack down when making salads and sanguiches , they make their own bread, on premises, and it's the best. They also have a variety of sweets that are superb. I have had the pleasure of sampling the cinnamon roll and today was honored with the chance to get a Strawberry Scone( thank goodness you need ove $5 to use a credit cad or I might have missed out). This was the best scone I have ever had and I have made scones. I couldnt get close to this. It was almost a conundrum how so may things could be going on in one simple scone. Sweet, savory, soft, crusty,moist yet slighty dry in the best possible way. There was large granules of sugar baked on to the top that gave this burst of sweetness and crunch, and the strawberries oh the strawberries. Even after baking they were juicy, I kid you not. Peeking out from various spots were these soft almost mushy (again in a very good way), pockets of pale red berries that were perfectly sweet yet tart at the very end. Phew that was like reliving an erotic experience of the mouth, but I digress and need to get back to the actual blog entry of the lobster, so here's a pic of that sultry temptress, Strawberry Scone.
The Kid also got a baby scone courtesy of the nice cashier. Now back to the assembly of the sanguich. I wanted to put a nice crust on the buns, so I turned to a new product I picked up.....
Yep. You read the jar correctly, it's Coconut oil! This is supposed to be super healthy and after seeing it at Costco, I figured I find a smaller jar and try it out. According to the company website, "Spectrum Naturals Organic Coconut Oil is grown without the use of pesticides and is closer to nature than other coconut oils found on the market, which tend to be over-processed or hydrogenated. Organic Coconut Oil has subtle coconut flavor and is unrefined. Packaged in a wide mouth glass jar, it is typically found in the culinary oils section of the store. Coconut oil is extracted from the meat of the tropical coconut. It is 100% vegetable oil and vegan. Coconut oil's fatty acid profile consists of about 92% saturated fat, making it very stable and safe to store at room temperature. Because of its natural stability, Spectrum's Organic Coconut Oil is a good alternative to butter and shortening for medium heat baking and sautéing. Organic Coconut Oil is not suitable for use at high heat levels. In addition to its long and successful history as a tropical culinary oil, coconut oil has been used for centuries as a body care product that nourishes, moisturizes and protects skin and hair."
Sounds like it is the best thing to happen to the coconut since Harry Nilsson sang that lime in the coconut song. I spread a little on the buns and threw them in the sauté pan and let them brown and get crusty . The oil works great as a butter substitute and even has almost the same mouth feel.
Starting to toast
Post toast. The crust it developed was very nice and kept its crunch all the way to the last bite. The final step in preparing this aquatic sanguich action, was to add the Butter lettuce.
Fresh, vibrant lettuce. Crisp and full of that earthy almost grassy flavor. This is the perfect foil to parry against the lush, tangy lobster and the crusty, slightly sweet bread. For me it also brings out the lemon flavor in the aioli.
Booooom! There it is! The completed sanguich. After battling crustaceans, cooking in unbearable heat, and taking the life of a sweet, innocent head of lettuce, it was time to reap the reward. The first bite was glorious. The warm bun released a puff of steam that opened my sinuses and plumped my taste buds so that my main eating senses were primed for the awesome-ness that ensued. The lobster was tender, divine, and cooked perfectly and the aioli was just right so as not to cover the ocean fresh taste of the lobster meat, but elevate it to luscious decadence. Just when you thought the richness would overpower your tongue and blow out your taste buds, the butter lettuce steps up with its clean, crisp green-ness and mellows out the whole thing.
About to be blissing out
Baby bliss
These sanguiches were well worth the effort and I highly recommend them. We thoroughly enjoyed eating these delightful sanguiches and hope you enjoy reading about them and possibly trying to make them for you and yours. Fare thee well Devout Devourers, and may you always find food that fills you, stomach and soul.
Links for info and such:
Food Network Magazine
Point Loma Seafoods
Con Pane Rustic Breads &Cafe
Also a special thanks to Geoffery Zakarian for being a great chef and overall badass (it's his recipe)
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