Stuffed lobster with garlic, basil and lemon

Lobster can often feel like a luxury that is too difficult or expensive to cook at home. While definitely not dirt-cheap, you might be surpised by how inexpensive lobster can be when it is prepared at home. A standard 1.25# lobster can often be purchased for around 12-13 dollars but I have found them for as cheap as 7-8 dollars each! One lobster will yield one generous appetizer or 2 small appetizer portions.

The process for this dish is very simple and similar to making crabcakes or crab imperial. Lobsters are boiled, cooled, and cut in half. The meat is then picked, chopped, and dressed with basil, garlic, lemon, and mayonnaise. The meat is stuffed back into the shell, topped with breadcrumbs, and then roasted in the oven until hot.

This same stuffing method can be used with all sorts of different flavorings. A compound butter or thick sauce can be used in place of the mayonnaise and the herbs and seasonings can be changed to suit your taste. The general idea is that you take some nice chunks of lobster, mix them with a flavorful mayo/sauce/butter, stuff them back in the shell, and then roast everything together.

Stuffing and roasting the lobsters is quite easy. The most time-consuming part of this recipe is cooking and butchering of the lobsters. I will attach a link for how to do this.

Necessary for this recipe:

• How to cook and clean lobsters for stuffed lobster

Stuffed Lobster with garlic, basil and lemon

An impressive and delicious way to prepare lobster at home.

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Cooking and cleaning live lobsters 40 minutes mins

Course Appetizer

Servings 2 generously stuffed half-shells

Ingredients

  

Crispy breadcrumb topping

• 6 Tbsp panko breadcrumbs
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/8 tsp smoked paprika (optional)

Stuffed lobster

• cooked tail, claw, and knuckle meat from 2 lobsters (1.25# each) see the link above for how to cook lobsters and clean half-shells
• 2 clean lobster half-shells (see note below for portion sizes)
• 4 Tbsp mayonnaise (home-made or store-bought)
• 1 large clove garlic, grated on a microplane or finely minced
• 1/4 cup chiffonade basil
• 3 Tbsp thinly sliced scallions
• 1 tsp finely chopped calabrian chili (optional)
• zest of half a lemon (zest the lemon with a microplane or fine grater)
• lemon juice, salt, and black pepper (to taste)
• crispy breadcrumb topping

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 375F

Crispy Breadcrumb topping

• In a small bowl, combine panko, olive oil, salt and paprika. Mix well and spread out on a baking sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until the panko is golden brown and toasty. Allow breadcrumbs to cool for 10 minutes before using.
  

Stuffed lobster

• Take about 1/4 of the lobster meat and roughly chop it, use the smaller bits of the lobster for this. Cut the rest of the lobster into 1/2 inch chunks.
  
• In a mixing bowl, combine the lobster with the rest of the ingredients and 1/2 of the crispy breadcrumb mix. Season with salt, black pepper and a little bit of lemon juice. The lobster is cooked so feel free to taste this mix.
  
• On a sheet tray, crumple up some foil to create a "bed" for the lobster shells to sit on.
  
• Place the lobster shells on the foil so they lay flat and are secure.
  
• Stuff the shells with the lobster mix.
  
• Sprinkle the remaining crispy breadcrumbs on top of the lobster.
  
• Roast the lobsters in the 375F oven for about 20 minutes, or until a skewer or paring knife inserted into the middle of the lobster comes out medium-hot. If desired, turn on the broiler for a few minutes at the end of the cooking time to get the breadcrumbs extra crispy.
  
• Serve with lemon wedges

Notes

This recipe is for 2 generous appetizers (2 stuffed half-shells). Each stuffed half-shell contains the meat from 1 whole lobster. If you would like to make 3 or 4 smaller appetizers, use 3 or 4 half shells and divide the lobster mix evenly between them. Since each half-shell will contain less lobster meat, they will cook a bit faster. Check the lobsters after 15 minutes.