Sous Vide Lobster Cocktail

Merry Christmas!

Here is a quick post I wanted to share of the appetizer I enjoyed tonight. Recently I found several sous vide recipes for lobster and I just had to try one. After reading the great information from The Food Lab/Serious Eats, I opted to use the clean and simple distillation of that information from the Sous Vide Guy. It was perfect for creating a quick holiday appetizer and the lobster cooking method could easily be used for a main course. Give this appetizer a try – whether just to spoil yourself or to indulge guests at your New Year’s Eve dinner party. It is super simple to prepare and so elegant to enjoy.

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Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 1 hour

Total time: 1 hour 15 mins

Serves: 1

Ingredients

1 lobster tail
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp fresh Italian parsley, loosely collected

Cocktail Sauce

2 tsp prepared horseradish
2 tsp ketchup
½ tsp Worchestershire sauce
½ tsp lemon juice
¼ tsp peri peri sauce

Garnish

red or green lettuce leaves
lemon wedges

Instructions

Set up the sous vide water bath for 135 degrees F.
Remove the lobster tail from the shell by cutting along the middle and splitting the shell to extract the tail meat whole.
Place lobster tail, butter, and parsley leaves in recloseable or vacuum seal bag.
Vacuum seal using the Moist setting or using the water displacement method.
The water displacement method helps the lobster meat retain its shape for optimal plating.
Place bag in the water bath for 30 to 60 minutes.
Be advised that after 60 minutes, the lobster meat will break down and become mushy.
Quick chill the bagged lobster in an ice bath for 5 minutes.
While chilling the lobster, add all the cocktail sauce ingredients into a small bowl and stir to combine.
Prepare the cocktail glasses with lettuce leaves and the cocktail sauce in the bottom of the glass.
Remove the lobster from the bag and section the tail into bite sized pieces.
Place lobster chunks around the front edge of the glass.
Add a lemon wedge and serve.

Notes

This recipe is adapted from The Maine Lobster website.

Cocktail Sauce Ingredients and Garnish

Set up the sous vide water bath for 140 degrees F. Remove the lobster tail from the shell by cutting along the middle and splitting the shell to extract the tail meat whole. Place lobster tail, butter, and parsley leaves in recloseable or vacuum seal bag.

Vacuum seal using the Moist setting or using the water displacement method. The water displacement method helps the lobster meat retain its shape for optimal plating.

Place bag in the water bath for 30 to 40 minutes. Be advised that after 60 minutes, the lobster meat will break down and become mushy.

Quick chill the lobster in an ice bath for 5 minutes. While the bagged lobster chills, add all the cocktail sauce ingredients into a small bowl and stir to combine. Prepare the cocktail glasses with lettuce leaves and the cocktail sauce in the bottom of the glass. Remove the lobster from the bag and section the tail into bite sized pieces. Place lobster chunks around the front edge of the glass. Add a lemon wedge and serve.