GoProvidence.com and the Providence Journal bring you Small Bites: Easy-to-Digest Recipes. This weekend, we officially welcome summer, and all the foods that make it special. That includes lobster. For recipes and some good dining talk, we turned to The Lobster Pot's Jeff Hirsh and Executive Chef Chris Lee. Hirsh has owned the venerable Bristol restaurant for 33 years.
The Lobster Pot has been around since 1929, serving locals and vacationing tourists. Guests enjoy water views from the dining room or up close from the outside deck. While the setting has not changed, diners have, said Hirsh. Long gone are the days when restaurants like The Lobster Pot were just for special occasions. Today, the menu includes casual dishes such as fish tacos, pulled pork sliders and designer pizzas (think asparagus, artichoke and lobster or goat cheese, fig and prosciutto).
Check out the video and recipe below for the restaurant's Baked Stuffed Lobster recipe, which is served Fisherman Style.
Baked Stuffed Lobster Fisherman Style
- 1 1/2 pound lobster
- 4 ounces sea scallops
- 3 ounces Ritz Cracker crumbs
- 3 ounces seasoned breadcrumbs
- Vegetable oil, to moisten breadcrumbs
- 2 ounces melted butter
The trouble with baked stuffed lobster is that chefs stab the live lobster with a heavy knife before stuffing it.
But if you aren't comfortable with that, boil water in a pan large enough to fit the lobster. Drop a live lobster in and cook for just 35–40 seconds. Remove to an ice bath (a bowl filled with ice) to cool.
Remove the claws and return to boiling water to cook them for 4 or 5 minutes. Cool and remove the meat from claws. Shred the claw meat and mix with the moistened bread and cracker crumbs.
Once the body of the lobster is cool, split the belly side of the lobster with a heavy-grade knife. Pull back on both sides to crack open the shell. Clean out the green tomalley and the rest of the body contents.
Put the claw and crumb mixture in the lobster shell. Add half the melted butter and top with scallops.
Bake on a cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Drizzle with the rest of the butter and cook for another 10 minutes until golden brown.
This recipe makes one stuffed lobster. It is easily increased to accommodate more diners.
