Two popular ways to cook fresh lobsters is boiling and steaming. Charlie’s favorite way to cook lobsters is steaming. All you need is a good size pot, water, salt (preferably sea salt), unsalted butter, and the Maine ingredient-fresh lobsters.

Make sure you pick out a mad lobster. It’s easy to find one; it’s the lobster who will raise its claws and flap its tail. The mad, feisty lobster will be the freshest lobster! It’s best to cook lobsters the day your receive them. You can keep a good hard-shell lobster alive for a day or two in the coldest part of your refrigerator, usually the bottom shell.

Why steam lobsters, rather than boil them? Charlie prefers steaming lobster because he says it makes less of a mess and cooks up a more tender lobster than boiling. Steaming lobster preserves the ocean fresh taste of lobster. Since steaming cooks lobster a little slower, there is less of a chance of overcooking. It’s a good choice if your cooking lobster for the first time. Cooking for a big group? You can find out how to boil lobsters here.

If you are just cooking a couple of lobsters, a 3-4 gallon soup or pasta pot will do the job. If you are cooking a bunch of lobsters you can get a larger pot or steam your lobsters in batches. Just make sure the lid goes on tight to keep in the steam. A steamer rack is not a necessity. It just keeps the lobsters from getting charred on the bottom of the pot. You can use an vegetable steamer rack inside the pot or an upside colander.

Now for the all-important cooking times. The first rule of cooking lobsters-do not overcook. Second rule-do not overcook your lobsters. For soft-shell lobsters you might want to subtract a minute or two from the cooking times.

Directions for Steamed Lobsters

To steam live lobster: Fill pot so that water comes up sides about two inches. Add 2 tablespoons of salt for each quart of water. If you have sea salt-even better. Bring the water to a rolling boil, and put in lobsters, one at a time. ( Feel free to use a steaming rack to place the lobsters on or just add directly to the pot.) Bring water to a rolling boil over high heat. Place lobsters in the pot (head first), cover tightly, return to a boil as quickly as possible and start counting the time.

Steam a lobster for 12 minutes per pound, for the first pound. Add 3 minutes per pound for each additional pound thereafter. See chart below for approximate cooking times. Regulate the heat if the froth starts to bubble over.

Steaming Lobster-Cooking Times

Lobster Weight: Cooking Time
1 lb.-1-1/4 lbs. 10-12 minutes
1-1/2 lb. 12-14 minutes
2 lbs. 16-18 minutes
2-1/2-3 lb. 18-20 minutes
5 lb. 20-24 minutes

Lobsters are done when the outer shell is bright red and when the meat is white, not opaque. Again, DO NOT overcook your lobsters. Carefully remove lobsters from the pot with tongs. Be careful, they are very hot. Note: Your lobsters will continue to cook a little after you take them out of the pot. To stop the cooking process, place your steamed lobsters in a bowl of ice before cracking. Now just melt the butter. You can get fancy and whisk in a little lemon juice in your butter. Now dig in!

Friday is a big day for fresh fish in New England, especially during the the Season of Lent! Charlie gives a few pointers for buying fresh fish. Fresh Fish should:

1. Smell fresh like a mild sea breeze, not fishy.
2. Have no bruises in the flesh.
3. Have shiny, not slimy scales.
4. Have bright, clear eyes, bright pink or red gills (whole fish).
5. Have no dry or browning edges .

Many fish are excellent for broiling, either indoors or out. Whole fish, fish steak and even fillets can be broiled successfully with a little care.

Always oil the broiler pan or lay a sheet of foil over it. Broil fish 3-4′ from heat. Whole fish and fish steaks should be turned once during cooking. Do not turn fillets. Brush fish well with melted butter or oil: fillets need more lubrication than whole fish or fish steaks. Broil fillets 5-10 minutes, depending on thickness. Steaks will take from 6-12 minutes and whole fish 10-20 minutes, depending on size. Do not overcook.Fish is done when it flakes easily when tested with a fork. If checking with a thermometer, fish is usually ready when the internal temperature reaches 145 °F.

To charcoal broil: place fish in a greased hinged grill as it will be easier to turn. Make sure coals are white hot. Turn fish once or twice during cooking. A whole fish will take about 8 minutes each side, while fish fillets take only 1 1/2–2 minutes per side.

Serve broiled fish plain, or with lemon butter, parsley butter or your favorite herb butter.

Spring time is finally here. It’s finally time for grilling. Here is a real simple recipe for grilling lobsters. Just like cooking steak on the grill, it’s real easy to overcook lobster, so be careful.

Ingredients
2 live Maine lobsters (1.5 lbs. each)
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 clove garlic minced
2 ears of fresh corn

Plung lobster into rapidly boiling water for 3 to 5 minutes until lobsters turn bright red. Refresh under very cold running water. Use ice if lobster is still hot. Slice lobster in half lengthwise so that one claw and half of the tail are one piece, then clean out the body cavity.

Grill over charcoal wood fire for 6-10 minitues with corn, basting the corn and lobsters with garlic butter.

You have to sauté the lobster shells in a heavy cast-iron skillet to get the flavor for your “blue ribbon” winner of a soup. Worth its weight in gold, Lobster Bisque is by far the most elegant of soups, and one that Charlie can’t seem to get enough of. He loves to talk to us about its subtle vegetable and seafood flavors with the sweetest lobster pieces he has ever tasted. Charlie swears that only a cup will do, because its velvety richness is much too sinful for a whole bowl.

Bisque is simply a fancy French name for a smooth and creamy soup that is seasoned with a shellfish purée and combined with a wonderfully aromatic mixture of cognac, white wine, vegetables, herbs, heavy cream and, of course, tender, sweet lobster.

Most chefs will tell you to make it a day in advance so that the flavors have a chance to meld together and create the essence of perfection that it deserves. Charlie tells us he’s tried a lot of different versions of this wonderful soup-up and down the east coast, but always longs to come home for his own. If you don’t have the time to make your own, Our Lobster Bisque has a beautiful color and texture that is made fresh with sweet Maine lobster, lots of cream and lightly accented with Sherry. This great bisque is sinfully delicious.

Charlie sent us this recipe for lobster bisque we thought we would share with you. Give it a try and let us know if you too are captured by its superb flavor.

LOBSTER BISQUE

YIELD: 8 Servings

INGREDIENTS:

1 (2lb) Lobster
1 large Spanish onion, minced
2 medium Carrots, diced
2 ribs Celery, diced
1 each Bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried thyme
4 tablespoons butter
¼ cup cognac
1 cup dry sherry
to taste salt
to taste cayenne pepper
¼ cup tomato paste
4 cups fish stock
1 cup heavy cream

METHOD OF PREPARATION:

1. Bring large pot of water to a boil. Add lobster and cook through, about 8 minutes. Using tongs, transfer lobster to large bowl. Reserve 2 cups cooking liquid. Cool lobsters.

2. Working over large bowl to catch the juices, cut off lobster tails and claws.

3. Crack tail and claw shells and remove lobster meat. Coarsely chop lobster meat, cover and refrigerate. Coarsely chop lobster shells and bodies and transfer to a bowl. Reserve juices from lobster in a large bowl and set aside.

4. Heat 2 tablespoons butter in heavy large skillet over high heat. Add lobster shells and bodies and sauté until shells begin to brown. Add onion, carrots, celery, bay leaf, and thyme to the pan and sauté until vegetables are just tender. Flame pan with cognac and then add the Sherry.

5. Simmer until almost all liquid has evaporated, about 4 minutes. Add fish stock, reserved 2 cups lobster cooking liquid and lobster juices. Simmer 1 hour.

6. Strain soup through a fine sieve lined with cheesecloth set over a large saucepan, pressing firmly on solids to extract juices. Whisk tomato paste into the soup and the remaining butter and simmer 20 minutes to reduce the liquid.

7. Slowly add the heavy cream to the soup and simmer 5 minutes more.

8. Mix lobster meat into soup and stir to heat through. Ladle soup into bowls and serve.

Sir Charles of Lobsterville checking in€¦

I know I sound like a country bumpkin but I do like to travel. Last week I went to New York City with my wife who loves to shop. Me being more food minded managed to squeeze some gastronomic experiences into the mix. Pastrami sandwich at the Carnegie Deli, good New York bagels€¦The height of my culinary treats was lunch at the Grand Central Oyster Bar. Located on the lower level of the recently renovated Grand Central Station this icon of New York cuisine lived up to its reputation.

One of the Signature dishes at the venerable Grand Central Oyster Bar is a seafood pan roast. Unlike the 94 €“ year-old restaurants’s seafood stews €“ the roasts contain a slice of bread and a shot of chili sauce that gives them a pale orange color and jazzier flavor. The menu offers a choice of oyster, cherrystone clam, Ipswich clam, shrimp, lobster or scallop pan roasts, or a combination, with all of the preceding awash in cream.

I opted for the combination pan roast and washed it down with a nice glass of French chardonnay (Pouilly Fuisse). Take a look at their cool spot “below sea level at grand central station”. Grand Central Oyster Bar.

Here is a recipe for a oyster pan roast but any seafood will work, whether cooked (lobster,crab), just-shucked (clams,oysters) or shelled (shrimp,mussels). And any variety of any of those types will do fine €“ just buy what looks best or order from us @ East Coast Gourmet. www.eastcoastgourmet.com

Pan roasts have an added attraction for New Year’s Eve. They go well with with the classic elixirs of the night €“ martinis or Champagne. Totally attuned to this out-with-the old, in-with-the new holiday, pan roasts are seductively retro.

Oyster Pan Roast

Total time : 30 minutes

Servings : 4

4 thick slices good white bread, lightly toasted
3 dozen freshly shucked oysters with their liquor
2 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons Heinz Chile Sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 ½ tablespoon coarse grain mustard (Creole or Pommery)
½ teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
Spanish smoked paprika for garnish (or chives)

Combine the oyster liquor with the cream, Heinz Chili sauce, Worcestershire sauce, mustard and Old Bay in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer and remove from heat. Melt the butter in a large skillet. Add the oysters and cook just until the edges start to curl, just a couple of minutes. Pour the warm cream mixture over them and cook, stirring constantly, until the oysters plump up, about 5 minutes. Place the toasted bread slices in individual bowls. Using a slotted spoon, divide the oysters among the four bowls. Raise the heat and cook the liquid until it thickens slightly. Pour over the oysters. Dust lightly with paprika (or chives) and serve.

From the rocky coast of Maine to the lazy shores of Maryland, Chowders are bubbling away just waiting for Charlie to stop in for some comfort in a bowl! However, depending on where you are, Charlie says the answer to the question, “what makes a chowda chowda” will be very different!

Charlie loves traveling along the northern coast of New England, where he can always find his favorite chowders-those one-pot meals made fresh, in an area where clams-hard-shell clams called quahogs to be exact, are the freshest anywhere, and always in abundance. Quahogs, available all year round, are actually grown-up cherrystones and used for chowders because of their size and flavor. Every recipe will tell you to make your chowda a day ahead of time which, after a day of slow-simmering on the stove, gives the flavors time to mingle and intensify and the clams time to tenderize. Make sure you save the liquid that you use to steam and open the clams and you’ll be well on your way in making the perfect chowder.

From the tip of Cape Cod to Boston and points north, chowder and it’s ingredients are fiercely defended and include; clams, potatoes, onions, crispy bits of salt pork, and of course, milk or cream and always finished with a dab of butter on top-Ingredients that are the law in these parts!

A Boston trained chef developed our New England Clam Chowder. Definitely hearty €“ lots of cream & potatoes €“ but made with a delicate hand so as not to overpower some of the most tenderest of clams we’ve tasted.

What about Tomato-based-Manhattan chowder? Well, Charlie’s new to this concept of tomatoes in chowder, but tells us it’s prit-tee tasty too, just a different breed, a healthy cousin of its’ northern version. Believe it or not, Rhode Islanders first started adding chopped tomatoes to their chowder, a practice that brought down unrelenting contempt from the tip of Cape Cod to Maine. For no discernable reason this version of chowder came to be called “Manhattan Clam Chowder. The folks on Long Island believed that their version of clam chowder needed tomatoes for flavor and were adamant about merging the garden and the sea. A steaming hearty vegetable soup, Manhattan clam chowders are brothy, not creamy and sometimes begin with a chicken stock instead of fish stock. Our Manhattan Style Clam Chowder is chock full of clams, potatoes, bell peppers and other vegetables seasoned with cayenne pepper to give it a little kick. This is not just good €“ it’s actually good for you.

Marylanders, wanting no part of the Long Island tomatoes versus New England’s cream base controversy, added corn to their chowders and sometimes chicken in some parts. Roasted kernels, fresh off the cob, give this chowder a wonderfully earthy flavor, perfect for the late summer evening feast. Add some chili peppers and a sprinkling of crushed red pepper and now you’re talking goood eaten. Here’s a great new recipe for Grilled Corn Chowder. Try it and you’ll see why corn chowder became so popular. Serve with freshly baked corn muffins and you’ve got yourself a meal.

Grilled Corn Chowder
Grilled fresh Corn, red and green chilies simmered in a vegetable stock, thickened with heavy cream and garnished with a dollop Chili cream.

Estimated Time: 1 Hour and 45 minutes
YIELD: 12 Servings

INGREDIENTS:

5 cloves Garlic, peeled
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
5 ears Fresh Corn on the cob, husks and silks removed
2 quarts Vegetable Stock
2 each Jalapeño chilies, preferably red, washed, seeded, and finely minced
5 Ounces Heavy cream
Salt, to taste
1 cup Carrots, washed and peeled and diced ½ inch
1 cup Celery stalks, washed and trimmed and diced ½ inch
1 cup Onions, peeled and diced ½ inch
¾ cup Chili cream, optional
¾ cup Sour Cream
1 tablespoon Cilantro, fresh, minced
1 each Jalapeno chili, green or red, finely minced

METHOD OF PREPARATION:

1.Preheat oven to 400° F.
2.In a small sauté pan over medium heat, sauté the garlic in oil for 1 minute, remove cloves from pan, wrap in aluminum foil, and roast in the oven for 15 minutes.
3.Brush the corn cobs with the garlic oil from the sauté pan, and place on hot grill, turning frequently, until golden brown.
4. In a large stock or soup pot, combine the vegetable stock, diced vegetables, and Jalapeño Chilies. Bring to a boil; reduce the heat, and simmer for 20-30 minutes.
5.Using a sharp knife, remove the corn kernels from each cob and add them to the soup pot. Continue to simmer until all of the vegetables are very tender.
6.Pour the soup in a food processor and purée. Do not strain. Return to the soup pot, bring back to a boil, and reduce to desired consistency.
7.Temper the heavy cream, and then add it to the soup. Season, to taste, and serve immediately in pre-heated cups, garnish with Chili cream.

To Make Chili cream:
Place ¾ cup of sour cream in a small bowl. Add 1-tablespoon fresh minced cilantro and 1 finely diced red or green jalapeno pepper. Place a small dollop on each serving.

Chef Notes:
Here is a suggested variation for this recipe: Do not Puree the soup. Thicken it with strips of Flour tortillas, continue whisking until well combined.
Serve a Corn Muffin on top of crisp tortilla wedge with a dollop of Chili cream as a garnish.

Maine to the lazy shores of Maryland, Chowder is bubbling away just waiting for Charlie to stop in for some comfort in a bowl! But wait, is it clam, corn or Manhattan chowder that Charlie fancy’s?

Well, it’s a good thing history nixed the pickled pork! The first chowda’s, or chaudiere’s (as the French would say) date back to the 17th and 18th centuries that were communal stews for sailors and contained layers of pickled pork, salt cod, onions, ship biscuits, a glass of hot Madeira wine, some Indian pepper, lots of butter, some oysters and truffles.

New England, home of seafarers and settlers-a pretty resourceful bunch-were forced to make substitutions of those original ingredients so, out came the Madeira wine and truffles, and in went red wine and clams, and, later still, tomato ketchup or beer replaced the red wine.

From Boston to points north, chowder always begins with a good fish stock, the secret ingredient for any good chowder, and has evolved to include; clams, potatoes, onions and crispy bits of salt pork, and of course, milk or cream-ingredients New Englanders will defend to the end.

What about the origins of Tomato-based-Manhattan chowder? Rhode Islanders first started the controversial addition of chopped tomatoes to their chowder, a practice that brought down unrelenting contempt from the tip of Cape Cod to Maine. For no discernable reason the dish came to be called €œManhattan Clam Chowder. Long Islanders believed their version needed tomatoes for flavor and were adamant about merging the garden and the sea. A steaming vegetable soup, Manhattan clam chowders are brothy, not creamy and sometimes begin with a chicken stock instead of fish stock.

Marylanders, wanting no part of the tomatoes versus clam’s controversy, added corn to their chowders. Roasted kernels, fresh off the cob, give this chowder a wonderful earthy flavor, perfect for the late summer evening feast.