Lay the lobster on the table on its stomach, flatten it
out, and hold it firmly with the left hand, protected by
a towel if the fellow be lively ; with a sharp pointed
knife held in the right hand, make a quick cut in the
section between the back and the tail. This severs the
spinal cord and kills him instantly. Or, if you prefer,
you may smother him by plunging him headforemost
into boiling water for five minutes. Then begin at the
mouth, and make a deep incision, drawing the knife
quickly through the body and entire length of the tail,
dividing shell and all into two equal parts. Lay the
lobster open, remove the coral and stomach, but leave
the liver. Remove the intestinal vein from the tail,
and crack the claw shells with a mallet. Put it on a
greased wire broiler, and lay it close to the hot coals.
Brush the flesh over with melted butter as soon as hot,
broil eight minutes on the flesh side, turn and broil six
minutes on the shell side. Serve immediately.
Melted butter is usually served with broiled lobster,
but I prefer a maitre d 'hotel butter — two tablespoon-
fuls butter creamed and seasoned with one- half tea-
spoonful salt, one tablespoonful each lemon and minced
parsley, and a few grains of paprika.
Have plates very hot, as lobster cools quickly, and
provide pincers or nut crackers for cracking the claws,
and oyster forks for picking out the meat. Lobsters
may be divided in the same way, placed in a drip-
ping pan, basted with butter, and baked fifteen min-
utes.
They are more easily cooked, and hardly to be dis-
tinguished from the broiled variety.
These simple ways of broiling and baking in the
shell give a flavor to the lobster which is quite unlike
that obitained by boiling, and the simplest seasoning of
butter, salt and pepper (many prefer nothing whatever)
gives us a dish far superior to all the souflQes, croquettes,
farces, etc., ever concocted. One has but to happen
into any of our first-class hotels at luncheon time
to be convinced of the popularity of broiled live
lobster.
44 The Complete Cook Book.
DEVILED LOBSTER.
Extract the meat from a boiled lobster and mince it
finely; reserve the coral; season highly with mustard,
cayenne, salt and some pungent sauce. Stir until it is
well mixed and put into a porcelain saucepan (covered)
with enough water to keep it from burning. Rub the
coral smooth, moistening with vinegar, until it is thin
enough to pour easily ; then stir into the contents of the
saucepan. It is necessary to prepare the dressing before
the lobster meat is set on the fire. It ought to boil up
but once before the coral and vinegar are put in. Next
stir in a heaping spoonful of butter✪ Deviled Lobster and when it boils
again take the pan from the fire. Too much cooking
toughens the meat.
SOFT SHELL CRABS.
Lift each point of the back shell and carefully re-
move every part of the spongy substance from beneath
it. Then pull off the apron, the semi-circular piece of
dark soft shell found on the under side and to which is
attached a substance like that removed from the back.
Wash in cold water and dry carefully on a towel.
Season well with salt and pepper. Dip in well-beaten
egg and roll in cracker crumbs. Fry in very hot lard
from three to five minutes. Serve on slices of fresh
toasted bread, a piece of lemon accompanying each
crab.
The soft shell crab is nothing more than a hard shell
crab after shedding its shell. In about three days the
new shell begins to harden again, which is the cause of
the always short supply.
DEVILED CRABS.
To one can of No. 2 crabs. — Remove the top from
the can and empty its contents into a bowl. Squeeze
from them all the water. Rub three tablespoonfuls of
butter and one of flour together. Pour into a teacup
of rich, boiling milk, and let cook two or three minutes.
Season with cayenne pepper and a very little salt.
Take from the fire and add your meat, then one tea-
✪ Deviled Crabs
Page 18 · 2 recipe records on this page
Presented as published in 1900. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
Lay the lobster on the table on its stomach, flatten it out, and hold it firmly with the left hand, protected by a towel if the fellow be lively ; with a sharp pointed knife held in the right hand, make a quick cut in the section between the back and the tail. This severs the spinal cord and kills him instantly. Or, if you prefer, you may smother him by plunging him headforemost into boiling water for five minutes. Then begin at the mouth, and make a deep incision, drawing the knife quickly through the body and entire length of the tail, dividing shell and all into two equal parts. Lay the lobster open, remove the coral and stomach, but leave the liver. Remove the intestinal vein from the tail, and crack the claw shells with a mallet. Put it on a greased wire broiler, and lay it close to the hot coals. Brush the flesh over with melted butter as soon as hot, broil eight minutes on the flesh side, turn and broil six minutes on the shell side. Serve immediately.
Melted butter is usually served with broiled lobster, but I prefer a maitre d'hotel butter — two tablespoonfuls butter creamed and seasoned with one- half teaspoonful salt, one tablespoonful each lemon and minced parsley, and a few grains of paprika.
Have plates very hot, as lobster cools quickly, and provide pincers or nut crackers for cracking the claws, and oyster forks for picking out the meat. Lobsters may be divided in the same way, placed in a dripping pan, basted with butter, and baked fifteen minutes.
They are more easily cooked, and hardly to be distinguished from the broiled variety.
These simple ways of broiling and baking in the shell give a flavor to the lobster which is quite unlike that obtained by boiling, and the simplest seasoning of butter, salt and pepper (many prefer nothing whatever) gives us a dish far superior to all the soufflés, croquettes, farces, etc., ever concocted. One has but to happen into any of our first-class hotels at luncheon time to be convinced of the popularity of BROILED LIVE LOBSTER.
44 The Complete Cook Book.
DEVILED LOBSTER.
Extract the meat from a boiled lobster and mince it finely; reserve the coral; season highly with mustard, cayenne, salt and some pungent sauce. Stir until it is well mixed and put into a porcelain saucepan (covered) with enough water to keep it from burning. Rub the coral smooth, moistening with vinegar, until it is thin enough to pour easily ; then stir into the contents of the saucepan. It is necessary to prepare the dressing before the lobster meat is set on the fire. It ought to boil up but once before the coral and vinegar are put in. Next stir in a heaping spoonful of butter and when it boils again take the pan from the fire. Too much cooking toughens the meat.
SOFT SHELL CRABS.
Lift each point of the back shell and carefully remove every part of the spongy substance from beneath it. Then pull off the apron, the semi-circular piece of dark soft shell found on the under side and to which is attached a substance like that removed from the back. Wash in cold water and dry carefully on a towel. Season well with salt and pepper. Dip in well-beaten egg and roll in cracker crumbs. Fry in very hot lard from three to five minutes. Serve on slices of fresh toasted bread, a piece of lemon accompanying each crab.
The soft shell crab is nothing more than a hard shell crab after shedding its shell. In about three days the new shell begins to harden again, which is the cause of the always short supply.
DEVILED CRABS.
To one can of No. 2 crabs. — Remove the top from the can and empty its contents into a bowl. Squeeze from them all the water. Rub three tablespoonfuls of butter and one of flour together. Pour into a teacup of rich, boiling milk, and let cook two or three minutes. Season with cayenne pepper and a very little salt. Take from the fire and add your meat, then one tea-
Records on this page
Deviled LobsterDeviled Crabs